This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman
(I receive no compensation from any entry on this blog.)
December 18, 2015 Global temperatures (click here) have already smashed records this year, and now meteorologists are warning 2016 will be even hotter. The annual global temperature forecast from the Met Office suggests 2016 will be between 0.72C and 0.95C above the long-term average of 14°C. Man-made global warming, along with a smaller effect from the natural El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific, are expected to push temperatures towards record levels next year. Professor Chris Folland, from the UK's Met Office, said: "2015 is on track to be the warmest year on record, and this forecast suggests 2016 is likely to be as warm, if not warmer."
Washington: US President Barack Obama (click here) is expected to
announce executive actions expanding background checks on gun sales,
media outlets reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with White
House proposals and planning. The changes, which could come as
soon as next week, would include requiring more small-scale gun sellers
to be licensed and to conduct a background check whenever selling a
weapon, Politico reported....
James' winning photo of the rare cyclone in Colorado earlier this year. Photo: James Young
December 31, 2015
By Ebony Bowden
A Melbourne man (click here) who picked up a camera just five years ago has won the National Geographic 2015 photo contest.
James Smart, from Balwyn, beat more than 13,000 entries to take out the prestigious competition with his photo of a tornado in Colorado.
The 30-year-old said he entered the competition not even knowing what the prize was – a handsome $US10,000 and a trip to National Geographic's headquarters in Washington.
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Smart, a freelance satellite operator, picked up a camera just five years ago while on holiday in Europe and said he couldn't believe he had won.
"I was surprised, that's for sure. I didn't think I'd win at all to be honest. I didn't even know what the prize was," he said....
Congratulations to James Smart and his brave resolve to photograph this rare phenomena. Interesting though, there is a great deal of rare and record setting events now that Earth is hotter than it ever should be.
This event was well documented. This picture of the storm appeared in The Washington Post. This phenomenal storm, with two tornadoes spinning simultaneously, was photographed late last week near Simla, Colo. (Kelly DeLay) June 8, 2015 By Angela Fritz ...Many different photos (click here) and videos of this storm have been shared, and it does seem that one of the tornadoes was rotating anticyclonically — or clockwise — which is a pretty rare occurrence. Just like mid-latitude cyclones and hurricanes, tornadoes in the Northern Hemisphere tend to rotate counter-clockwise, along with their parent thunderstorms, because of the rotation of the Earth and the Coriolis effect. But every once in a while, a tornado will buck that rule, according to leading tornado researcher and director of the Center for Severe Weather Research Josh Wurman. “Anticyclonic tornadoes can form if a supercell contains an anticyclonic mesocyclone,” said Wurman. “Or, a pair of tornadoes, one cyclonic, one anticyclonic, can form. Both of these are rare.”...
The picture Mr. Smart took was of a tornado that exhibited it's unique characteristics for a very brief time.
