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This just in from the Independent/UK via Common Dreams.

Published on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 by the Independent / UK
Global Warming Turns Pristine Coral into Rubble

Miles of unblemished coral reefs have been turned to slime-covered rubble because of rising sea temperatures caused by global warming.

A study into the extensive bleaching of the Seychelles corals in 1998 has found that these Indian Ocean reefs failed to recover, with many of them crumbling to broken fragments. Scientists said the findings showed that rising global sea temperatures could have a more devastating impact on the world’s tropical corals than previously thought.

“Some of the reefs have collapsed to almost mobile beds of rubble. They are no longer solid structures and some have been overgrown with fleshy green mats of algae,” said Nicholas Graham, a coral ecologist at the University of Newcastle. “They have basically turned into reefs of rubble and algae, with very little fish life. It’s a depressing story and it’s very sad to see what’s happened to these reefs,” said Mr Graham, a member of the survey team.

The Seychelles once boasted mile upon mile of luxuriant coral reefs but in 1998 the local sea temperatures rose dramatically because of the general rise in global temperatures combined with the effects of a strong El Nino - an occasional reversal of the warm ocean currents in the Pacific Ocean.

That’s right, I want to hear your stories about your pets and life after death. It could be a case of after-death visitation, reincarnation, anything that touches on pets and life after death.

I’ll start you off with one from my life:

One of the great loves of my life was a Weimaraner named Mischka. She and Haint (yes the inspiration for Haint) were a pair. There were other Weims living with us at the time but Haint and Mishcka were inseparable.

Mischka’s end came when she was about 13. She had apparently very painful cancer and in those days there was little to do to help dogs other than pain killers. I nursed as long as I could and finally I knew she was ready to go. So we loaded her into the car and took her to the vets. Unlike previous visits she actually seemed glad to be there. Her end was as peaceful as we could make it and I and the vet stayed with her until the last breath. Both he and I were sobbing through the whole time. Mischka, on the other hand, seemed relieved and let us know she was ready to be out of pain. I left her body there but not her soul.

Not too long after that I started hearing things like a dog barking right outside the door and no one was there. I would hear Mischka’s distinctive scratch at the door and no one was there. But someone was there — Mischka. And she started coming to me in dreams to let me know she was still with me.

That was some time ago and I have since moved away from that house. But sometimes I still hear her or feel her near me. She’s not back yet in physical form but she’s always near me in spirit.

Now its your turn. You don’t have to tell me the whole story. In fact, I’d prefer you not because I will interview a certain number of folks in person or over the phone to pull more of the story out of you. If you have a story to share send me the gist of the story to me at Haint@sbcglobal.net and I’ll get back to you.

Butterflies are one of those kinds of creatures who define spring and summer for me. Its never spring as far as I’m concerned until I see at least one of those litle white butterflies that become so ubiguitous from May to September.

But I guess I had better find something else to mark the beginning of spring. According to this article on BrightSurf.com, California butterflies are having a hard go of it this year.

Cold, wet conditions early in the year mean that 2006 is shaping up as the
worst year for California’s butterflies in almost four decades, according to Art
Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis.That’s a turnaround from
last spring, when millions of painted lady butterflies migrated through the
Central Valley. But other species have seen steep declines in recent years and
could disappear from the region altogether.“It has been the worst spring for
butterflies of my 35 in California,” Shapiro said. “There will probably be
long-term repercussions, especially for species already in serious decline.”

As I’m working on Haint 2 I have to keep this in mind.

Read the rest of the article.

I really wish I wrote fiction. I keep telling myself I am and then another news report comes through about global warming and I question that assumption all over again. Here’s a new article from The Independent on leaked news about global warming and yes Virginia, we are causing it

Here’s just the beginning of the article.

Global warming fastest for 20,000 years - and it is mankind’s fault
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Published: 04 May 2006

Global warming is made worse by man-made pollution and the scale of the problem is unprecedented in at least 20,000 years, according to a draft report by the world’s leading climate scientists.

The leaked assessment by the group of international experts says there is now overwhelming evidence to show that the Earth’s climate is undergoing dramatic transformation because of human activity.

A draft copy of the report by a working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases are at the highest for at least 650,000 years.

It predicts that global average temperatures this century will rise by between 2C and 4.5C as a result of the doubling of carbon dioxide levels caused by man-made emissions.

Read the rest of the article.