Wednesday, May 14, 2008

"Polar" Bears are North Pole, not South Pole. Penguins are South Pole. They need to stay apart.

Now endangered, polar bears are an even bigger draw in Churchill, Canada (click here)
Some expect tourists to flock to the tiny town in Manitoba province to see the threatened bears while they can.
By Mary Forgione and Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers May 15, 2008
The Bush administration's decision today to list polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act likely means more tourists will flock to a tiny Canadian town on Hudson Bay where bears are the star attraction every fall....



01 November 1999
Churchil Canada
Polar bears in Churchill in Manitoba, Canada have to be tranquillised then airlifted north in order to access their natural habitat as the sea ice is returning later and later after the summer months.


...Many scientists say human-induced global warming is directly responsible for the melting sea ice and have called for limits on greenhouse gas emissions to stem the loss.
But Kempthorne said that science is not yet able to link specific activities such as carbon dioxide emissions from a coal-fired power plant to impacts on individual polar bears....

May 14, 2008
1324 gmt
Antarctica Satellite

George W. Bush: "I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal"

Not Golfing, but, Fishing is okay !

Three engines, count them. Where is all the oil reserves going? Maine?


It must be one of those "What is psychologically good for the nation" moments.



Anchor of Bush's fishing boat gets stuck (click here)
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (AP) — President Bush's presidency is stuck in low gear. On Sunday, his fishing boat was stuck on stop.
Fellow Republicans may not be rushing to rescue his legislative agenda, but the Secret Service bailed Bush out of a jam when his boat anchor got wedged in rocks along the Atlantic Coast.
Relaxing before his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the president went fishing with his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and daughter, Barbara.
They dropped the anchor to fish less than 100 feet from shore at Biddleford, Maine, but when they decided to leave, they couldn't, according to an Associated Press photographer who took pictures of the incident.
A fishing guide along on the trip tried unsuccessfully to pull up the heavy anchor.

Soon after, a member of the president's security detail called divers aboard a Secret Service boat that had been following behind.
The anchor was untied, and the elder Bush backed his boat, a blue-and-white craft named Fidelity III, out of the way. After a diver dove down into the chilly water, the president, nonchalantly, resumed fishing.
But he had time to cast his line just a few times. Within minutes, the diver surfaced with the anchor in hand.
Residents and vacationers renting houses along the coast gathered to watch the anchor retrieval mission.
Bush waved his hat at the crowd as his dad began steering the boat back toward the Bush family estate at Walker's Point where Putin was to arrive a few hours later.
As he waited on a driveway for the Russian leader to arrive, Bush was asked about his fishing experience.
"Lousy," he said.
But his bad day of fishing didn't stop the president from going back out on the water for a second spin in Fidelity III. About a half hour after Putin arrived, the elder Bush piled his son and the Russian president into his speedboat and took them for a fast ocean ride.

Florida wildfires damage 160 homes


A firefighter works on hotspots in a wooded area of Grant, Fla. on Tuesday as wildfires continue to burn in Brevard County, in east Central Florida.


There are twelve wildfires throughout the USA (click here). Seven are in Florida.

Rain and snow across Arizona


May 12, 2008
Salt Lake City, Utah
Photographer states :: A little thunderstorm this morning with thunder and pea sized hail.


May 13, 2008
Rawlins, Wyoming
Photographer states :: Snow, snow, and more snow.... looking toward town


May 13, 2008
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Photographer states :: A small herd of elk graze in fresh snow in Rocky Mountain National Park.


May 13, 2008
Flagstaff, Arizona
Photographer states :: Side streets, Flagstaff AZ


May 13, 2008
Flagstaff, Arizona
Photographer states :: I had just set up the Barbecue Grill and table then it snowed last night. About 2 inches as of 0600 this morning. It was all gone by this afternoon at 1700.

Cape Breton gets 10 cm of snow in rare May storm


May 11, 2008
Thunder Bay, Canada
Photographer states :: Winter Wonderland in May, Highway 11/17, heading westward. No more snow!


Police called in salt trucks after thick, wet snowfall made driving difficult for motorists in the Martimes on Sunday, May 11, 2008.


May 11, 2008
Thunder Bay, Canada
Photographer states :: Winter Blizzard - Highway 102 West of Thunder Bay - 8:30 am .... and it would get worse!

Cape May County declares emergency as rain, wind pound coast


May 12, 2008
Rohoboth Beach, Delaware
Photographer states :: The Atlantic Ocean just off the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach DE during a N.E. storm with winds in excess of 50 mph.


May 12, 2008
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Photographer states :: Massive Beach Erosion in Atlantic City


May 12, 2008

Port Republic, New Jersey

Photographer states :: Flooding In Galloway from the Nor'easter




8:45 p.m. Update - High winds and heavy rain lashed New Jersey on Monday, chasing residents from their homes in coastal sections of Cape May County, flooding roadways, leaving nearly 50,000 people without electricity, and fanning the flames of a fatal fire in Newark.
Winds were gusting over 50 mph in many parts of the state, knocking down trees that left tens of thousands of people without electricity.
By 3 p.m. Atlantic City Electric was reporting that about 41,000 customers were without power, including 30,000 in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties.
An accident this afternoon on the causeway that connects Long Beach Island to the mainland has stopped traffic from coming onto the island, police said.
Cape May County declared a state of emergency at 2 p.m. Monday as the strong northeast storm hammered the resort peninsula with sustained winds of 40 to 45 miles per hour with gusts hitting 70 miles per hour.

Havoc across the Triad


May 9, 2008
Advance, North Carolina


May 9, 2008
Advance, North Carolina


May 9, 2008
Advance, North Carolina


May 9, 2008
Advance, North Carolina
Photographer states :: After the tornado - pictures taken after the Advance, Nc tornado