WATER News:

20090325
Italy - Swiss - Glaciers - Land - Atmosphere - Global - Climate - Politics - History - France - Austria
"Melting glaciers force Italy, Swiss to redraw border." ... "Melting glaciers in the Alps may prompt Italy and Switzerland to redraw their borders near the Matterhorn, according to parliamentary draft legislation being readied in Rome [Italy's capital]." ... "The Italian Military Geographic Institute says climate change is responsible for the Alpine glaciers melting." ... ""This draft law is born out the necessity to revise and verify the frontiers given the changes in climate and atmosphere," [Italy's Democratic Party member Franco] Narducci said. "The 1941 convention between Italy and Switzerland established as criteria [for border revisions] the ridge [crest] of the glaciers. Following the withdrawal of the glaciers in the Alps, a new criterion has been proposed so that the new border coincides with the rock."" ... "Narducci said the same negotiation will be proposed to France and Austria[.]" -CNN

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20090206
China - Drought - Disaster - History - People - Food - Animals - Agriculture - Land
"China suffering worst drought in 50 years." ... "China is suffering another natural disaster -- this time, the worst drought in half a century. The land is parched and the irrigation dams have dried up. Crops and livestock are dying." ... "China on Thursday raised the drought-emergency-alert level from orange to red and allocated an additional $44 million dollars on top of the $13 million in emergency aid already released." ... "Since November northern and central China has had little rain. Many places have not had rainfall for more than 100 days." ... "In the drought, more than 4.3 million residents face a shortage of drinking water, as do 2 million livestock." ... "The drought has hit 12 provinces, including the wheat-producing areas in Henan, Anhui, and Shandong provinces. Chinese media says the total area affected has reached 1,370 million hectares (3,385 million acres)." -By Jaime Florcruz -CNN

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20090203
Transportation - Infrastructure - Water - Government - Money - Wash - Calif
"Senate GOP blocks extra $25B in stimulus package." ... "Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked Democrats from adding $25 billion for highways, mass transit, and water projects to [Democratic] President Barack Obama's economic recovery program." ... "Already unhappy over the size of the measure, Republicans insisted additional infrastructure projects be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the bill." ... "But the Democratic amendment garnered 58 votes, just shy of the supermajority needed under Senate budget rules, and many more efforts to increase the measure's size are sure to follow." ... "At issue was a plan by [Washington Democratic Senator] Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash. [Democratic-Washington], and [California Democratic Senator] Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. [California-Democratic], to increase the highway funding in the bill to $40 billion, which reflected complaints from lawmakers in both parties that Obama's plan doesn't do enough to relieve a backlog of unfinished projects. The duo also wanted to increase mass transit programs by $5 billion boost and water projects by $7 billion." ... ""Our highways are jammed. People go to work in gridlock," Feinstein said Tuesday." -By Andrew Taylor -AP via -Yahoo

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20081223
Health - Military - Lawsuit - KBR - Corporate - Politics - Unsafe - Ice - IN - US - Iraq
"Soldiers Accuse KBR Of Knowingly Exposing Troops To Deadly Toxin In Iraq." ... "Controversial military contractor KBR has racked up quite a record of endangering the lives of U.S. [United States] soldiers serving in Iraq. Over the years, the former Halliburton subsidiary has been accused of everything from giving troops ice tainted with “traces of body fluids and putrefied remains” to ignoring warnings of unsafe wiring that led to troop deaths." ... "Earlier this month, attorneys for 16 members of the Indiana National Guard filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that they “knowingly exposed the soldiers to a cancer-causing toxic chemical.” In a special report last night, CBS News revealed that KBR knew of the toxic exposure to hexavalent chromium long before it informed the guardsmen:"

"Now CBS News has obtained information that indicates KBR knew about the danger months before the soldiers were ever informed." ... "Depositions from KBR employees detailed concerns about the toxin in one part of the plant as early as May of 2003. And KBR minutes, from a later meeting state “that 60 percent of the people … exhibit symptoms of exposure,” including bloody noses and rashes." ... "Gentry says it wasn’t until the last day of August in 2003 - after four long months at the facility - that he was told the plant was contaminated."

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WATCH: "KBR Accused In Toxic Scandal" via -CBSNews

"After receiving a briefing on the case on Monday, [Indiana Democratic Senator] Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN [Democratic-Indiana]) told CBS that “KBR has a lot to answer for“:"

"“Look, I think the burden of proof at this point is on the company,” Bayh said. “To come forward and very forthrightly explain what happened, why we should trust them, and why the health and well-being of our soldiers should continue to be in their hands.”"

"In a statement to CBS, the company denied all charges, saying, “We deny the assertion that KBR harmed troops and was responsible for an unsafe condition.” According to CNN, “an estimated 275 American soldiers may have been exposed to the chemical” at the KBR water plant, “over a period of months through mid- to late-2003.”" -By Matt Corley -ThinkProgress.org

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20081222
Water - Technology - Company - Environment - Minnesota - Texas
"Nation's First 'Underwater Wind Turbine' Installed in Old Man River." ... "The nation's first commercial hydrokinetic turbine, which harnesses the power from moving water without the construction of a dam, has splashed into the waters of the Mississippi River near Hastings, Minnesota." ... "The 35-kilowatt turbine is positioned downstream from an existing hydroelectric-plant dam and — together with another turbine to be installed soon — will increase the capacity of the plant by more than 5 percent. The numbers aren't big, but the rig's installation could be the start of an important trend in green energy." ... "And that could mean more of these "wind turbines for the water" will be generating clean energy soon." ... ""We don't require that massive dam construction, we're just using the natural flow of the stream," said Mark Stover, a vice president at Hydro Green Energy, the Houston[ Texas]-based company leading the project. "It's underwater windpower if you will, but we have 840 or 850 times the energy density of wind."" ... "Hydrokinetic turbines like those produced by Hydro Green and Verdant capture the mechanical energy of the water's flow and turn it into energy, without need for a dam." ... "Hydro Green's Stover hopes that his company's new unit will help shorten that regulatory process by generating environmental impact data that could ease concerns the turbines will disrupt river ecosystems and habitats." -By Alexis Madrigal -Wired

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20081216
Global - Climate - History - Earth - Fossil Fuel - Gases - Antarctic - Pacific Ocean - US - Britain
"NASA reports 2008 is ninth warmest year since 1880." ... "The year 2008 was the ninth warmest year since instrumental temperature measurements began in 1880, and all of the nine warmest years have occurred in the past 11 years, NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] reported on Tuesday." ... "The new data from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and other government agencies on Tuesday adds to the evidence scientists have been observing about a warming Earth as fossil fuel burning emits heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere." ... "NASA also reported that the January to November global temperature was 0.76 degrees Fahrenheit above the average for the 20th Century." ... "NASA also noted that the past year was cooler than any since 2000. Scientists note that global warming is a steady trend, but within it there are natural variations." ... "The NASA report noted that "Eurasia, the Arctic and the Antarctic Peninsula were exceptionally warm, while much of the Pacific Ocean was cooler than the long-term average." It said the relatively cooler temperature in the tropical Pacific was due to a La Nina, the cool phase of a natural temperature variation." ... "Britain's Met Office on Tuesday also said that La Nina was part of the reason 2008 was slightly cooler than earlier years this decade. By Britain's accounting, 2008 was the 10th warmest year on record dating back to 1850, and all 10 of the warmest years occurred since 1997." -By Renee Schoof -McClatchyDC.com

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20081211
Animals - Federal - Law - Enforcement - Science - Politics - History - Global - Climate - Ice - Oil - Emissions - Construction - Money
"Environmentalists: New rule guts Endangered Species Act." ... "In a move environmental groups says strikes at the heart of the Endangered Species Act, the [Republican President] Bush administration on Thursday announced a new rule that would let federal agencies decide on their own whether their projects harm endangered species, instead of requiring them in many cases to get a second opinion from federal wildlife experts." ... "Opponents said the move destroys the checks and balances that have helped the gove rnment save hundreds of species from extinction under the 1973 law." ... "[Republican President Bush's] Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said the reason for the rule change was linked to global warming." ... "Kempthorne listed the polar bear as a threatened species in May but said that the Endangered Species Act could not be used to try to halt global warming. The new regulation specifies that there is no need for consultations when the harm to endangered or threatened species is a result from a global process that's too broad to measure." ... "Kempthorne said it's impossible to pinpoint the death of any single animal from emissions from any single polluter. In fact, emissions of heat-trapping gases disperse evenly in the atmosphere around the globe and remain there for centuries. The resulting warming and melting of polar ice have put the polar bear at risk of extinction by mid-century, scientists have said." ... "The rule changes also go further and specify that federal agencies are not required to consult with the biologists of the two agencies that enforce the act — the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Services — if they think a project such as a timber sale or construction of a power plant won't harm or kill a threatened or endangered species. The changes do not rule out voluntary consultations." ... "The Interior Department on Thursday also finalized a rule implementing another section of the Endangered Species Act to clarify that it will not protect polar bears from oil and gas development or greenhouse gas emissions." -By Renee Schoof -McClatchyDC.com

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20081210
Animals - Seas - Global - Climate - Science - Emissions - Economy -  - Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
"Fifth of world's coral reefs dead, say marine scientists: Climate change linked to warmer and more acidic seas pose biggest threat to coral survival, says report." ... "A fifth of the world's coral reefs have died or been destroyed and the remainder are increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a new study says." ... "The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network says many surviving reefs could be lost over the coming decades as CO2 emissions continue to increase." ... "Corals are crucial to the livelihoods of millions of coastal dwellers around the world. The UN's Millennium Ecosystem Assessment says reefs are worth about $30bn annually to the global economy through tourism, fisheries and coastal protection." -By David Adam-Guardian.co.uk

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Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network - www.GCRMN.org

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20081209
Global - Climate - Floods - Oil - Companies - Human - Environmental - Emissions - Litigation - Politics - UK - US
"Science paves way for climate lawsuits." ... "People affected by worsening storms, heatwaves and floods could soon be able to sue the oil and power companies they blame for global warming, a leading climate expert has said." ... "Myles Allen, a physicist at Oxford University, said a breakthrough that allows scientists to judge the role man-made climate change played in extreme weather events could see a rush to the courts over the next decade." ... "He said: "We are starting to get to the point that when an adverse weather event occurs we can quantify how much more likely it was made by human activity. And people adversely affected by climate change today are in a position to document and quantify their losses. This is going to be hugely important."" ... "Allen's team has used the new technique to work out whether global warming worsened the UK [United Kingdom] floods in autumn 2000, which inundated 10,000 properties, disrupted power supplies and led to train services being cancelled, motorways closed and 11,000 people evacuated from their homes - at a total cost of £1bn." ... "There may also be grounds for a case on the basis that firms have tried to misinform the public - as in US [United States] cases against tobacco firms - about the effects of their business." ... "Owen Lomas, head of environmental law at City firm Allen & Overy, said: "If you look at the extent to which certain major companies in the US are accused of having funded disinformation to cast doubt on the link between man-made emissions and global warming, that could open the way to litigation."" -By David Adam and Afua Hirsch -Guardian.co.uk

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Plants - Animals - Food - Water - Soil - Global - Climate - Science - Government - US - Canada
"Tree's rapid decline sounds alarm on global warming." ... "The whitebark pine, a tree found in the high elevations of the western U.S. [United States] and Canada, is being killed as a consequence of global warming and should be protected as an endangered species, an environmental group formally told the Interior Department Tuesday." ... "If the federal government accepts the scientific arguments in a petition by the Natural Resources Defense Council, it would be the first time a wide-ranging tree has been added to the list. The NRDC [Natural Resources Defense Council] also sees an endangered designation as a warning about worsening climate change." ... "The whitebark pine has declined dramatically due to a triple threat — a disease called the white pine blister rust; the mountain pine beetle, which thrives in the warmer high-altitude conditions produced by the burning of fossil fuels, and forest management practices that have allowed other trees to crowd it out, the NRDC's petition said." ... "Warming also will limit the range of the whitebark pine, the petition said. Many live more than 500 years." ... "The whitebark pine stabilizes the soil and shades the snow, providing water over longer periods for other plants. Grizzly bears, smaller mammals and birds eat its seeds, and elk, grouse and other mountain animals find shelter beneath it." -By Renee Schoof -McClatchyDC.com

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Gov Reference: "Whitebark Pine Communities"

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20081202
Barack Obama - Stephen Johnson - Water - Earth - Coal - Companies - Government - Law - Enforcement - Politics - Kentucky - Tennessee
"EPA to gut mountaintop mining rule that protects streams." ... "The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday approved a last-minute rule change by the [Republican President] Bush administration that will allow coal companies to bury streams under the rocks leftover from mining." ... "The 1983 rule prohibited dumping the fill from mountaintop removal mining within 100 feet of streams. In practice, the government hadn't been enforcing the rule. Government figures show that 535 miles of streams were buried or diverted from 2001 to 2005, more than half of them in the mountains of Appalachia. Along with the loss of the streams has been an increase of erosion and flooding." ... "The 11th hour change before President George W. Bush leaves office would eliminate a tool that citizens groups have used in lawsuits to keep mining waste out of streams. Mining companies had been pushing for the change for years." ... "It also means that [Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama's administration will have to decide whether to try to restore and enforce the rule, a process that could take many months of new rulemaking. Obama's transition team declined to comment on its plans on Tuesday." ... "Another option would be for opponents to go through the courts. Opponents have argued that the rule change is illegal." ... "For now, however, the EPA's approval means there are no further obstacles to the Office of Surface Mining's plans to change the rule. The White House's Office of Management and Budget approved it on Monday. The Department of Interior, which includes the mining office, plans to make the rule final in December after briefing members of Congress, and it will go into effect 30 days after that, said spokesman Peter Mali." ... "The timing means the rule is expected to be in effect when Obama takes office in January." ... "In approving the change in writing as required by law, [Republican President Bush's Environmental Protection Agency] EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson rejected the appeals of environmentalists and some coal-country officials, including Kentucky [Democratic Governor] Gov. Steve Beshear and Tennessee [Democratic Governor] Gov. Phil Bredesen, both Democrats." ... "In a letter in November to Johnson, Beshear said his state had to protect its water and that while coal was important to the economy, it should be mined in environmentally responsible ways." -By Renee Schoof and Bill Estep -Herald-Leader -McClatchyDC.com

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20081111
Animals - Environment - Global - Climate - Gases - Industrial - Science -History
"Report: Greenhouse gases imperil oceans' web of life." ... "Corals, lobsters, clams and many other ocean creatures — including some at the bottom of the food chain — may be unable to withstand the increasing acidity of the oceans brought on by growing global-warming pollution, according to a report Tuesday from the advocacy group Oceana." ... "Based on scientific findings of the past several years, Oceana's report "Acid Test" examines the far-reaching consequences of the accumulation of heat-trapping gases, particularly carbon dioxide, in the world's oceans." ... "A high level of carbon dioxide in seawater depletes the carbonate that marine animals need for their shells and skeletons. Creatures who are at risk if trends continue include corals, which provide habitats for about a quarter of the world's fish; things many people like to eat, including shrimp and lobster; and pteropods, or swimming sea snails, which are an important part of the base of polar and sub-polar food chains." ... "The acidity of the oceans' surfaces has increased 30 percent since before the Industrial Revolution, and the current trend would increase it 100 percent by the end of this century, exceeding levels of the past 20 million years, the report says." -By Renee Schoof -McClatchyDC.com

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Report: "Acid Test: Can We Save Our Oceans from CO2?" [PDF Full Report] - Oceana.org

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20080829
Sarah Palin - Alaska - Lawmakers - Investigation - Global - Climate - Ice - Environment - Species - 2008 Election
"Palin candidacy raises eyebrows in Alaska." ... "State lawmakers have launched a $100,000 investigation to determine if [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah] Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan last month because Monegan wouldn't fire a state trooper involved in a messy custody battle with her sister." ... "She also is under fire from environmentalists for opposing the [Republican President] Bush administration's decision in May to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act because global warming is melting the polar ice cap." ... "Dermot Cole, a longtime columnist for Alaska's second-largest newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, called McCain's choice of Palin reckless and questioned her credentials." ... ""Sarah Palin's chief qualification for being elected governor was that she was not Frank Murkowski," Cole said of her enormously unpopular predecessor, who lost favor with Alaskans in part because of unpopular budget cuts. "She was not elected because she was a conservative. She was not elected because of her grasp of issues or because of her track record as the mayor of Wasilla [Alaska]."" -By Dan Joling with contributions by Sharon Theimer and H. Josef Hebert -AP via -Chron

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John McCain - Sarah Palin - Science - Politics - Oil - Money - Wildlife - History - Global - Climate - Ice - Law - Alaska - Arizona - 2008 Election - US - Canada
"McCain VP Pick No Friend to Polar Bears." ... "Alaska [Republican] Governor Sarah Palin has ignored research showing that polar bear populations are declining in the quest to plumb new sources of energy, according to scientists, and environmental groups who fought to put the bears on the endangered species list." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain tapped Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential candidate Friday. Palin is only the second woman to be on a major party's ticket as VP -- the first was Geraldine Ferraro, who ran with Democrati Walter Mondale in 1984." ... "The 44-year-old Palin, a beauty pageant winner and former mayor of a small town in Alaska, is an advocate of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has infuriated environmentalists  for her support of the aerial shooting of wolves as a way to build up herds of moose and caribou. She's also sued the Interior Department for putting  polar bears on the endangered species list." ... "In the lawsuit, filed this month in federal district court in the District of Columbia, Palin argues that the government's move to list polar bears as endangered is not based on sound science, and restricts oil and natural gas development. The Interior Department had put the bears on the list in response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, who argued that the bears are being threatened by global warming." ... "In an interview on the conservative CNN talk show hosted by Glenn Beck earlier this year, Palin said that she was worried that environmentalists are using the Endangered Species Act to block the extraction of oil and gas." ... ""In fact, the number of polar bears has risen dramatically over the past 30 years," she said. "Our fear (is) that extreme environmentalists will use this tool, the ESA, to eventually curtail or halt the North Slope production of very rich resources that  America needs."" ... "But biologists who have studied polar bear populations counter that the facts simply do not support Palin's assertion that polar bear populations are on the rise." ... ""Polar bear populations have not been increasing for the past 30 years, and that's a well-known fact," said  Ian Stirling, an emeritus scientist with Canada's Department of the Environment and an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta in an interview. Stirling has studied polar bears for 37 years -- the longest of anyone." ... "In fact, the polar bear population has actually declined by 20 percent in Alaska's Southern Beaufort Sea since the mid-1980s, he says, referring to peer-reviewed research that he's conducted with other scientists for the US Geological Survey. The reason: Loss of their habitat in the form of melting ice." -By Sarah Lai Stirland -Wired

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20080828
Global - Climate - Ice - Science - History
"Arctic ice shrinks to second-lowest level ever." ... "Arctic sea ice, which melts partly during each polar summer, has shrunk more this year than in any on record except for 2007, the National Snow and Ice Data Center has found." ... "Scientists said the data provided more ominous indications that a global warming "tipping point" in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is now at its second lowest level in about 30 years." ... "With several weeks left of the melting season, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported yesterday that sea ice in the Arctic now covers about 2.03 million square miles. The lowest point since satellite measurements began in 1979 was 1.65 million square miles, measured on Sept. [September] 16, 2007." ... "Declining ice as a result of warmer temperatures in the air and ocean threatens to amplify global warming because the sea is darker than ice and absorbs more sunlight." -Newsday.com

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20080805
John McCain - Oil - Money - Politics - 2008 Election - New York - Texas - Ocean - Environment
"Oilman greases skids for McCain campaign: Among the donors from John B. Hess' company are an office manager and her husband, who pony up $57,000." ... "On June 10, John B. Hess, a top executive at the oil company with his family name, summoned friends to the 21 Club, a former speakeasy in Manhattan [New York], and delivered $285,000 to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain and the Republican National Committee." ... "A week later, McCain traveled to Texas and announced his support for offshore oil drilling." ... "Hess Corp. is an East Coast gasoline retailer with major refining and exploration operations, some of which happen to be offshore in the Gulf of Mexico." ... "Hess was one of half a dozen hosts who tapped friends for the maximum $28,500 donation to the GOP. Others included investor Henry Kravis and hedge fund mogul Paul E. Singer." -By Dan Morain -LAtimes

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20080619
John McCain - Barack Obama - Iowa - Flood - Disaster - Law - Enforcement - 2008 Election
"Culver aides: McCain ignored request to cancel Iowa visit." ... "An aide to [Iowa Democratic Governor] Gov. Chet Culver said Thursday that [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain ignored the governor's request to cancel a campaign visit amid a massive flood recovery effort in the state." ... "Patrick Dillon, Culver's chief of staff, said the governor was concerned that McCain's trip would divert local law enforcement from the flood recovery effort to provide security for McCain." ... "[2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama canceled a scheduled visit to eastern Iowa last week at the request of state officials." -By Mike Glover -AP via -Google

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Disaster - Environment - Human - Agriculture - Land - Science - Iowa - History - Weather
"Iowa Flooding Could Be An Act of Man, Experts Say." ... "[Cedar Falls, Iowa college professor and City Council member Kamyar] Enshayan, director of an environmental center at the University of Northern Iowa, suspects that this natural disaster wasn't really all that natural. He points out that the heavy rains fell on a landscape radically reengineered by humans. Plowed fields have replaced tallgrass prairies. Fields have been meticulously drained with underground pipes. Streams and creeks have been straightened. Most of the wetlands are gone. Flood plains have been filled and developed." ... ""We've done numerous things to the landscape that took away these water-absorbing functions," he said. "Agriculture must respect the limits of nature."" ... "Officials are still trying to understand all the factors that contributed to Iowa's flooding, and not everyone has the same suspicions as Enshayan. For them, the cause was obvious: It rained buckets and buckets for days on end. They say the changes in land use were lesser factors in what was really just a case of meteorological bad luck." ... "But some Iowans who study the environment suspect that changes in the land, both recently and over the past century or so, have made Iowa's terrain not only highly profitable but also highly vulnerable to flooding." ... "" (1, 2) -By Joel Achenbach with contributions by Kari Lydersen -WashingtonPost

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20080614
Flood - Iowa - Des-Moines - Illinois - History - Health
"Thousands Flee Rising Waters In Iowa, Ill.: Breaking Levees Flood Des Moines [Iowa's capital], Western Ill. [Illinois]; Streets In Cedar Rapids [Iowa] May Be Underwater For Two Weeks." ... "Days after it rose out of its banks on its way to record flooding in Cedar Rapids, the Cedar River has forced at least 24,000 people from their homes, emergency officials said Saturday." ... "The bleak news came as swollen rivers breached levees in the state capital, Des Moines, and in far western Illinois, leading to the evacuation of hundreds more homes." ... "Officials guess it will be four days before the Cedar River drops enough for workers to even begin pumping out water that has submerged at least 438 blocks, threatened the Cedar Rapids drinking water supply and forced the evacuation of a downtown hospital." ... "The Cedar River crested Friday night at nearly 32 feet, 12 feet higher than the old record set in 1929." (1, 2) -AP -CBSNews

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20080523
• Oceans - Global - Climate - Science - Environmental - Atmospheric - Industrial - Factories - Cars - History - Animals - Seattle - Washington - California - Oregon - US - Canada - Mexico - "Acidified seawater showing up along coast ahead of schedule." ... "Climate models predicted it wouldn't happen until the end of the century." ... "So a team led by Seattle [Washington] researchers was stunned to discover that vast swaths of acidified seawater already are showing up along the Pacific Coast as greenhouse-gas emissions upset the oceans' chemical balance." ... "In surveys from Vancouver Island [British Columbia, Canada] to the tip of Baja California [Mexico], reported Thursday in the online journal Science Express, the scientists found the first evidence that large amounts of corrosive water are reaching the continental shelf — the shallow sea margin where most marine creatures live." ... "Off Northern California, the acidified water was only four miles from shore." ... ""What we found ... was truly astonishing," said oceanographer Richard Feely, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. "This means ocean acidification may be seriously impacting marine life on the continental shelf right now."" ... "All along the coast, the scientists found regions where the water was acidic enough to dissolve the shells and skeletons of clams, corals and many of the tiny creatures at the base of the marine food chain. Acidified water also can kill fish eggs and a wide range of marine larvae." ... ""Entire marine ecosystems are likely to be affected," said co-author Debby Ianson, an oceanographer at Fisheries and Oceans Canada." ... "Though it hasn't received as much attention as global warming, ocean acidification is a flip side of the same phenomenon. The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from power plants, factories and cars that is raising temperatures worldwide also is to blame for the increasing acidity of the world's oceans." ... "Normally, seawater is slightly alkaline. When carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves into the water, it forms carbonic acid — the weak acid that helps give soda pop its tang. The process also robs the water of carbonate, a key ingredient in the formation of calcium carbonate shells." ... "Since the Industrial Revolution, when humans began pumping massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Feely estimates the oceans have absorbed 525 billion tons of the man-made greenhouse gas — about one-third of the total released during that period." ... "By keeping some of the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, the oceans have blunted the temperature rise due to global warming. But they've suffered for that service, with a more than 30-percent increase in acidity." ... "The acidified water upwelling along the coast today was last exposed to the atmosphere about 50 years ago, when carbon-dioxide levels were much lower than they are now. That means the water that will rise from the depths over the coming decades will have absorbed more carbon dioxide and will be even more acidic." -By Sandi Doughton -SeattleTimes

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20080513
• Corporate - Environmental - Health - Politics - Investigation - Manufacturing - Water - Michigan - Illinois - Indiana - Minnesota - Ohio - Wisconsin - "U.S. Senators Probe Departure of EPA Midwest Administrator." ... "The circumstances surrounding the resignation of Mary Gade, formerly the U.S. [United States] EPA's [Environmental Protection Agency's]  regional administrator for the Midwest, are under investigation by an environmental committee of the U.S. Senate." ... "On May 2, the "Chicago Tribune" reported that two top aides to Johnson demanded that Gade resign or be fired by June 1, 2008. She has since submitted her resignation and is currently on administrative leave." ... "According to the Tribune's story, Gade believed her forced resignation was due to her efforts to push Dow Chemical Company to clean up dioxin contamination in Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron stemming from its Midland, Michigan chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxin is a known carcinogen." ... "The paper also reported that officials from Dow Chemical had met with EPA officials in Washington in January 2008 because they were unhappy with Gade's approach, and that Gade's handling of this issue became the subject of criticism from her superiors in Washington." ... "On January 4, 2008, Gade terminated negotiations with Dow Chemical aimed at a settlement to conduct a study and interim cleanup actions for dioxin contamination along the Tittabawassee River system, the Saginaw River and the Saginaw Bay. The negotiations under the Superfund Act began in October 2007 with the participation of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality." ... ""I am extremely disappointed with this outcome," said Gade on January 4. "EPA approached negotiations with high hopes and realistic expectations. Our team put in many long hours of good faith efforts that came to an unfortunate end today. EPA is now reviewing its options for ensuring that dioxin contamination in the river system and the Midland area can be fully addressed."" ... "An environmental attorney, Gade was appointed regional administrator of EPA Region 5 in October 2006 to oversee federal environmental programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin." -ENS

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20080508
• Oil - Corporations - Air - Environment - Ground - Water - Safety - Health - Science - Politics - "Chevron, 11 Oil Companies to Pay $423 Million in MTBE Lawsuits." ... "Water suppliers in 17 states will collect $423 million from Chevron Corp. [Corporation], BP Plc [Public limited company] and 10 other oil companies as part of a settlement of contamination claims involving the gasoline additive MTBE." ... "The suits claim the oil companies contaminated wells and underground aquifers across the country by adding methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, to gasoline as a way to reduce air pollution. They claim the oil companies hid information showing MTBE would cause ``massive'' contamination." ... "The settlement was filed yesterday with U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in New York, who is presiding over the 59 settled lawsuits brought by 153 municipalities. The six oil companies and refineries that didn't settle include Exxon Mobil Corp. [Corporation], the world's biggest publicly traded oil company, according to Robert Gordon, a lawyer for the plaintiffs." ... "The municipalities ``will use the money to continue to treat water so that it is safe and pure,'' Gordon said in a phone interview." ... "MTBE reduces air pollution by making gasoline burn more completely in a car's engine. MTBE discharged into the air contaminates groundwater through rainfall. The additive has been banned in many states." ... "Estimates of the cost to treat contaminated water in the U.S. have reached $30 billion." ... "Scheindlin denied a request by the oil companies to dismiss the suits in 2005." ... "``Innocent water providers -- and ultimately innocent water users -- should not be denied relief from the contamination of their water supply if defendants breached a duty to avoid an unreasonable risk of harm from their products,'' Scheindlin said at the time." ... "The case is In Re: MTBE, 00-cv-1898, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). " -By David Glovin -Bloomberg

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20080507
• Water - Infrastructure - Human - Health - Safety - Enforcement - Environment - Underground - Money- History - Weather - Animals - Plants - "Aging systems releasing sewage into rivers, streams." ... "America's aging sewer systems continue to dump human waste into rivers and streams, despite years of fines and penalties targeting publicly owned agencies responsible for sewage overflows, a Gannett News Service analysis shows." ... "The analysis of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data found that since 2003, hundreds of municipal sewer authorities have been fined for violations, including spills that make people sick, threaten local drinking water and kill aquatic animals and plants." ... "DATABASE: Sewer treatment plant reports by state[.]" ... "Local governments across the USA plan to spend billions modernizing failing wastewater systems — some of which are more than 100 years old — over the next 10 to 20 years, EPA, state and local sewer authority officials said." ... "Those improvement efforts face a huge challenge mitigating problems in what the EPA estimates to be 1.2 million miles of sewers snaking underground across the USA." ... "Waste gurgles from manholes and gushes down streams and rivers somewhere in the USA almost every day, the EPA estimates." ... "Gannett News Service analyzed enforcement and compliance records compiled by the EPA and state regulators from January 2003 to February 2008." ... "The analysis found that at least one-third of the nation's large, publicly owned sewage treatment systems were the subject of formal enforcement actions by the EPA or state regulators for sewage spills or other violations. Those enforcement actions included fines as well as orders to fix problems or expand treatment capacity. Fines totaling $35 million were assessed against 494 of the nation's 4,200 municipal facilities that treat at least 1 million gallons of sewage daily, the analysis shows." ... "An EPA 2004 report to Congress estimated that 850 billion gallons of storm water mixed with raw sewage pour into U.S. waters every year from older, combined sewer systems that were designed to overflow in wet weather. These combined systems, built by cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries, are now considered antiquated and a threat to public health and the environment, according to the EPA and environmental groups." ... "The EPA's 2002 Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis reported the nation's municipal sewer authorities' capital needs to meet clean water requirements from 2000 to 2019 ranged from $331 billion to $450 billion. Based on that data, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies now puts that range at $350 billion to $500 billion for the next 20 years, association spokeswoman Susan Bruninga said." -By Larry Wheeler and Grant Smith with contributions by Robert Benincasa and Dan Klepal -USATODAY

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20080502
• Stephen Johnson - Corporate - Government - Politics - Fetal - Human - Health - Science - Environmental - Safety - Enforcement - Emergency - Wildlife - Soil - Water - Law - Manufacturing - History - Michigan - Illinois - "EPA's top Midwest regulator forced out: Mary Gade, based in Chicago [Illinois], says [Republican President] Bush administration made her quit over Dow Chemical case." ... "The Bush administration forced its top environmental regulator in the Midwest to quit Thursday after months of internal bickering about dioxin contamination downstream from Dow Chemical's world headquarters in Michigan." ... "In an interview with the [Chicago] Tribune, Mary Gade said two top officials at the U.S. [United States] Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington stripped her of her powers as regional administrator and told her to quit or be fired by June 1." ... "Gade said she had told the agency she would resign her position, based in Chicago [Illinois]." ... "For the past year, Gade has been locked in a heated dispute with Dow about long-delayed plans to clean up dioxin-saturated soil and sediment that extends 50 miles beyond its Midland, Mich. [Michigan], plant into Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron." ... "Gade, a former corporate attorney appointed by Bush in September 2006, invoked emergency powers last year to force Dow to clean up four hot spots of dioxin, including the largest amount of the cancer-causing chemical ever recorded in the United States." ... "In January, Dow urged officials at the EPA's [Environmental Protection Agency's] headquarters to intervene after Gade broke off negotiations intended to renew the terms for a more comprehensive cleanup. Neither side would reveal details, citing confidentiality agreements, but Gade said Dow resisted taking steps needed to protect human health and wildlife." ... "Though regional EPA administrators typically have wide latitude to enforce environmental laws, Gade drew fire from officials in Washington last month after she sent contractors to test soil in a Saginaw [Michigan] neighborhood where Dow had found high dioxin levels." ... "She said top lieutenants to Stephen Johnson, the national EPA administrator, repeatedly questioned her aggressive action against Dow, which long ago acknowledged it is responsible for the dioxin contamination but has resisted federal and state involvement in cleanup plans." ... "Dow dumped dioxin-contaminated waste into the waterways for most of the last century. The chemical, which is so toxic that it is measured in trillionths of a gram, was a manufacturing byproduct of the Vietnam-era herbicide Agent Orange and other chlorinated herbicides." ... "Company documents show Dow knew by the mid-1960s that it could make people sick or even kill them." ... "Citing years of independent studies, the EPA says dioxin can cause cancer, disrupt the immune system and alter fetal development." ... ""We have a responsibility to make sure people are living in a healthy and safe environment," Gade said. "This problem has been out there for more than 30 years, and it's unconscionable that action hasn't been taken."" (1, 2) -By Michael Hawthorne -ChicagoTribune 

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20080430
• Agriculture - Factory - Companies - Poor - People - Nutrition - Health - US -  - World - Biofuel - Air - Soil - Water - Environment - Animals - Plants - Science - "Shortages Threaten Farmers’ Key Tool: Fertilizer." ... "Some kinds of fertilizer have nearly tripled in price in the last year, keeping farmers from buying all they need. That is one of many factors contributing to a rise in food prices that, according to the United Nations’ World Food Program, threatens to push tens of millions of poor people into malnutrition." ... "Rising demand for food and biofuels prompted farmers everywhere to plant more crops." ... "Fertilizer companies are confident the shortage will be solved eventually, noting that they plan to build scores of new factories. But that will probably create fresh problems in the long run as the world grows more dependent on fossil fuels to produce chemical fertilizers." ... "The demand for fertilizer has been driven by a confluence of events, including population growth, shrinking world grain stocks and the appetite for corn and palm oil to make biofuel. But experts say the biggest factor has been the growing demand for food, especially meat, in the developing world." ... "Fertilizer is plant food, a combination of nutrients added to soil to help plants grow. The three most important are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The latter two have long been available. But nitrogen in a form that plants can absorb is scarce, and the lack of it led to low crop yields for centuries." ... "That limitation ended in the early 20th century with the invention of a procedure, now primarily fueled by natural gas, that draws chemically inert nitrogen from the air and converts it into a usable form." ... "Environmental groups fear increased use, particularly of nitrogen fertilizer made using fossil fuels. Because plants do not absorb all the nitrogen, much of it leaches into streams and groundwater. That runoff has long been recognized as a major pollution problem, and it is growing." ... "A barometer of the pollution is the rising number of dead zones where rivers meet the sea. In the Gulf of Mexico, for instance, nitrogen runoff from fields in the Corn Belt washes downstream and feeds plant life in the gulf. The algae blooms suck oxygen from the water, killing other marine life." (1, 2) -By Keith Bradsher and Andrew Martin -NYTimes 

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20080423
• Noteworthy - Government - EPA - Opinion - Science - Politics - Food - Drug - Oceanic - Atmospheric - Climate - Health - California - Investigation - "Hundreds of EPA Scientists Report Political Interference Over Last Five Years: UCS [Union of Concerned Scientists] calls for strengthened protections for federal scientists." ... "An investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency released today found that 889 of nearly 1,600 staff scientists reported that they experienced political interference in their work over the last five years. The study, by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), follows previous UCS investigations of the Food and Drug Administration, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and climate scientists at seven federal agencies, which also found significant administration manipulation of federal science." ... ""Our investigation found an agency in crisis," said Francesca Grifo, director of UCS's Scientific Integrity Program. "Nearly 900 EPA scientists reported political interference in their scientific work. That's 900 too many. Distorting science to accommodate a narrow political agenda threatens our environment, our health, and our democracy itself."" ... "The UCS report comes amidst a flurry of controversial activity swirling around the EPA. Congress is currently investigating administration interference in a new chemical toxicity review process as well as California's request to regulate tailpipe emissions. And in early May, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is expected to hold a hearing on political interference in the new EPA ground-level ozone pollution standard." ... "UCS's investigation revealed political interference is most pronounced in offices where scientists write regulations and at the National Center for Environmental Assessment, where scientists conduct risk assessments that could lead to strengthened regulations." ... ""The investigation shows researchers are generally continuing to do their work," said Dr. Grifo. "But their scientific findings are tossed aside when it comes time to write regulations."" ... "Nearly 100 scientists identified the [Republican President Bush's] White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the primary culprit." -UCSUSA.org

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• Government - Environmental- Science - Politics - Human - Health - Law - Air - Ground - Water - Homes - Workplace - Industry - US - Global - Climate - Free Speech - Censorship - "Interference at the EPA: Science and Politics at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency." ... "The U.S. [United States] Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the simple yet profound charge "to protect human health and the environment."  EPA scientists apply their expertise to protect the public from air and water pollution, clean up hazardous waste, and study emerging threats such as global warming. Because each year brings new and potentially toxic chemicals into our homes and workplaces, because air pollution still threatens our public health, and because environmental challenges are becoming more complex and global, a strong and capable EPA is more important than ever." ... "Yet challenges from industry lobbyists and some political leaders to the agency's decisions have too often led to the suppression and distortion of the scientific findings underlying those decisions—to the detriment of both science and the health of our nation. While every regulatory agency must balance scientific findings with other considerations, policy makers need access to the highest-quality scientific information to make fully informed decisions." ... "Concern over this problem led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) to investigate political interference in science at the EPA. The investigation combines dozens of interviews with current and former EPA staff, analysis of government documents, more than 1,600 responses to a survey sent to current EPA scientists, and written comments from EPA scientists." ... "The results of these investigations show an agency under siege from political pressures. On numerous issues—ranging from mercury pollution to groundwater contamination to climate change—political appointees have edited scientific documents, manipulated scientific assessments, and generally sought to undermine the science behind dozens of EPA regulations." ... "These findings highlight the need for strong reforms to protect EPA scientists, make agency decision making more transparent, and reduce politicization of the regulatory process. Congress, the next president, and the next EPA Administrator must restore independence and scientific integrity to the EPA by:"
• "   * Protecting EPA Scientists: Scientists should be free to report the distortion, manipulation, and suppression of their work without fear of retribution. Congress should pass a whistleblower law that includes protection for scientists. The EPA should adopt a communications policy that lets scientists speak freely to the press about their findings."
• "   * Making the EPA More Transparent: Too many decisions are made behind closed doors with little accountability. The EPA’s scientific findings should be freely available to the public. The EPA should open up its decision-making process to congressional and public scrutiny to help reveal misuses of science[.]"
• "    * Reforming the Regulatory Process: The White House should not change scientific findings in order to weaken, delay, or prevent new public protections."
• "    * Ensuring Robust Scientific Input to EPA's Decision Making: The EPA should review and strengthen how it uses the scientific expertise of its staff and external advisory committees to create policies—especially when scientific input is critical or required by law."
• "    * Depoliticizing Funding, Monitoring, and Enforcement: Problems with funding, monitoring and enforcement also need to be addressed by Congress and the next President to ensure that the EPA is the robust environmental agency that our country needs."
 -UCSUSA.org/scientific_integrity/interference

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20080409
• Water - Transportation - Construction - Technology - History- Environmental - Health - Politics - Government - New York - "US Water Pipelines Are Breaking." ... "The infrastructure that delivers water to the nation's cities is badly aging and in need of repairs." ... "The Environmental Protection Agency says utilities will need to invest more than $277 billion over the next two decades on repairs and improvements to drinking water systems. Water industry engineers put the figure drastically higher, at about $480 billion." ... "Water utilities, largely managed by city governments, have never faced improvements of this magnitude before. And customers will have to bear the majority of the cost through rate increases, according to the American Water Works Association, an industry group." ... "Engineers say this is a crucial era for the nation's water systems, especially in older cities like New York [City, New York], where some pipes and tunnels were built in the 1800s and are now nearing the end of their life expectancies." ... ""Our generation hasn't experienced anything like this. We weren't around when the infrastructure was being built," said Greg Kail, spokesman for the water industry group. "We didn't pay for the pipes to be put in the ground, but we sure benefited from the improvements to public health that came from it."" ... "Cities have a hard time convincing residents that they should spend money on something they never see, buried hundreds of feet underground. And often, public officials pawn the responsibility off on the next person elected, Kail said." -By Colleen Long -AP via -SeattleTimes

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20080403
• Global - Climate - Atmosphere - Science - Antarctic - Ice - History - UN - San Diego - California - Iowa - US - "Dust plays huge role in climate change: Tiny particles heat up the atmosphere faster than scientist once believed. The good news is this dust can be cleaned up fairly quickly." ... "Scientists know that dust affects climate. Tiny particles create veils that reflect sunlight and cool the atmosphere. Dark particles absorb sunshine and warm things up. But as scientists look deeper into the dust-climate connection, they find that they have underestimated its importance." ... "Research published April 3 in Nature reveals the tight linkage between atmospheric dust flows and Antarctic temperatures during ice ages over the past 800,000 years. A research review published March 23 in Nature Geoscience online shows that black carbon particles in the atmosphere have a more powerful global-warming effect than any of the greenhouse gases except carbon dioxide. And these particles are 60 percent as effective as CO2 itself. That's far more powerful than the estimate in last year's report of the UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)." ... "The good news is that black carbon particles such as diesel soot or wood-stove smoke only stay airborne for weeks. (It takes a century to get rid of today's CO2 emissions.) This fact offers an opportunity for instant payback, say study authors V. Ramanathan at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego [California] and Gregory Carmichael at the University of Iowa in Iowa City [Iowa]. In an announcement from Scripps, the authors note that commercially available technologies exist to cut back soot emissions substantially. Using them would rapidly reduce black-carbon warming. " -By Robert C. Cowen -CSMonitor 

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20080331
• Food - Crisis - World- People - Farmers - Land - Fuel - Money - Politics - History - Weather - Drought - China - UN - "Tensions rise as world faces short rations." ... "Food prices are soaring, a wealthier Asia is demanding better food and farmers can't keep up. In short, the world faces a food crisis and in some places it's already boiling over." ... "Around the globe, people are protesting and governments are responding with often counterproductive controls on prices and exports -- a new politics of scarcity in which ensuring food supplies is becoming a major challenge for the 21st century." ... "Plundered by severe weather in producing countries and by a boom in demand from fast-developing nations, the world's wheat stocks are at 30-year lows. Grain prices have been on the rise for five years, ending decades of cheap food." ... "Drought, a declining dollar, a shift of investment money into commodities and use of farm land to grow fuel have all contributed to food woes. But population growth and the growing wealth of China and other emerging countries are likely to be more enduring factors." ... "World population is set to hit 9 billion by 2050, and most of the extra 2.5 billion people will live in the developing world. It is in these countries that the population is demanding dairy and meat, which require more land to produce." ... "In 2007 alone, according to the U.N. [United Nations] Food and Agriculture Organization's world food index, dairy prices rose nearly 80 percent and grain 42 percent." [see also: Agflation] (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) -By Russell Blinch and Brian Love with contributions by Ayesha Rascoe, Missy Ryan, Alistair Thomson, Ho Binh Minh and Eddie Evans -Reuters 

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20080310
• Water - Drugs - Human - Health - Environmental - Science - Investigation - Industry - Consumer - Safety - Federal - Law - Earth - Wildlife - California - New Jersey - Michigan - Ky - "Sex Hormones, Mood Stabilizers Found In Drinking Water Of 41 M Americans." ... "A vast array of pharmaceuticals _ including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones _ have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows." ... "To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe." ... "But the presence of so many prescription drugs _ and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen _ in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health." ... "In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas _ from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit [Michigan] to Louisville, Ky. [Kentucky.]" ... "How do the drugs get into the water?" ... "People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue." ... "And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies _ which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public _ have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife." ... "The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water." ... "The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated." ... "Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems." ... "Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply." -By Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza, and Justin Pritchard -AssociatedPress via -HuffingtonPost.com

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- 
Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami
December 26, 2004

USGS.gov
"Magnitude 9.0 - SUMATRA- ANDAMAN ISLANDS EARTHQUAKE: OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA 2004 December 26 00:58:53 UTC" ... "Felt Reports: This is the fourth largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and is the largest since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake. In total, more than 283,100 people were killed, 14,100 are still listed as missing, and 1,126,900 were displaced by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 10 countries in South Asia and East Africa.The earthquake itself caused severe damage and casualties in northern Sumatra, Indonesia and in the Nicobar Islands, India. It was felt (IX) at Banda Aceh, (VIII) at Meulaboh and (IV) at Medan, Sumatra; (VII) at Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India; (III-V) in parts of Bangladesh, mainland India, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The tsunami caused more casualties than any other in recorded history and was recorded nearly world-wide on tide gauges in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. At least 108,100 people were killed and 127,700 are missing and presumed killed by the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia. Tsunamis killed at least 30,900 people in Sri Lanka, 10,700 in India, 5,300 in Thailand, 150 in Somalia, 90 in Myanmar, 82 in Maldives, 68 in Malaysia, 10 in Tanzania, 3 in Seychelles, 2 in Bangladesh and 1 in Kenya. Tsunamis caused damage in Madagascar and Mauritius and caused minor damage at two places on the west coast of Australia. Seiches were observed in India and the United States and water level fluctuations occurred in wells in various parts of the United States. Subsidence and landslides were observed in Sumatra. A mud volcano near Baratang, Andaman Islands became active on December 28 and gas emissions were reported in Arakan, Myanmar. (last updated 2/15/05)" -USGS.gov

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