Eco-news in brief 7-3
By CG News Editor April Jaynes
Meteorologists deem recent regional storms “derecho”
AccuWeather.com forecasters are calling last weekend’s cluster of thunderstorms a “derecho,” or a widespread wind storm often refereed to as a “land hurricane.” The last derecho to hit the United States occurred in 2009 in the Plains states. The main catalyst in this particular derecho were very hot and humid ground conditions, according to senior AccuWeather meteorologists. Weather events like this are difficult to predict and rare in occurrence. AccuWeather expects an increase of research projects for this particular type of storm, which has been studied before.
Blue whale population endangered by increasing ship traffic
While ship strikes are the leading cause of whale deaths across the globe, researchers say the problem has recently escalated in Sri Lanka where a whale’s death in April was the sixth of this year. Last year, approximately 20 different types of whale carcasses were found around the island, according to researchers from the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency in Colombo. Scientists also say that since the blue whale population in Sir Lanka is largely unstudied and the waters are poorly monitored it is unclear as to how much ship strikes have increased in the area. Marine biologist Asha de Vos works toward stopping the carnage and raising awareness through her long-term research program, the Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project, which she started three years ago.
National Geographic finds”Nine Places to See Before They Slip Away”
From sinking water levels to the increasing influx of industrialization, the following are must-see places before it’s too late.
1) The Dead Sea
2) Kyoto, Japan
4) Glacier National Park, Montana
5) Bhutan
6) Atlantic Forest, South America
7) Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
9) Maldives
