Jerry Curl

USA Today reports : Record and near-record breaking temperatures dominated the eastern two-thirds of the nation and contributed to the warmest March on record for the USA , a record that dates back to 1895, federal scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced this morning. More than 15,000 warm temperature records were broken in all. The average temperature of 51.1 degrees F was 8.6 degrees above the 20th century average for March, scientists reported. Every state in the nation experienced a record warm daily temperature during March, and 25 states east of the Rockies had their warmest March on record. Several large cities — including Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Nashville, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington — had their warmest March since records started being kept, according to the National Weather Service . Hundreds of locations across the country broke their all-time March records. Also, the first quarter o...

KeysNet reports : The corals of the Florida Keys which took centuries to grow died within days during the frigid January 2010 cold snap, says a newly published scientific study. "Some monumental corals that were 200 or 300 years old perished in a span of five days," said Rob Ruzicka, a co-author with Michael Colella of the patch-reef study published in the February edition of Coral Reefs, the journal of the International Society for Reef Studies . Colella and Ruzicka work for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and have been involved with the 17-year history of the institute's Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project. The published cold-water study focuses on patch reefs, generally found in depths of 12 to 20 feet in Hawk Channel, inside the main Florida Keys coral reef, that did not suffer damage as severe. Some of the patch reefs lost from half to two-thirds of their coral cover as a result of the cold-w...

Photo caption: Researchers found coral at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico covered with "black scum" and gooey brown mixture of materials. CNN reports : The Deepwater Horizon oil spill damaged coral formations deep beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico and miles from the ruptured well at the heart of the disaster, researchers reported yesterday. Scientists using remote-controlled probes and the venerable research submersible Alvin spotted a coral colony covered in "black scum" about 7 miles (11 kilometers) southwest of the undersea gusher, Penn State University biologist Charles Fisher said. Another nearby formation was covered in a gooey brown and white mix of oil and organic materials from the coral, he said. "What this does tell us is there was acute damage to a reef 7 miles away," Fisher said. "It tells us it's likely this oil hit a lot of other areas of the seafloor." Fisher was the chief scientist for an expedition that surveyed the...

CNN reports : At least 81 dolphins have been found dead or died shortly after being discovered on Cape Cod in a series of largely unexplained strandings that began early last month, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More than 100 dolphins, of the common species, have been found stranded along the rocky Massachusetts shoreline since January, said NOAA spokeswoman Teri Rowles and scientists involved in the rescue effort. The mammals have at times washed up in groups of as many as 10, added Katie Moore, a manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Scientists say they are transporting the living dolphins by trailers, after they are tagged, to an outer Cape Cod coast where they are being released. Nine dolphins rescued off of Cape Cod While dolphin strandings are not uncommon on Cape Cod, the animal welfare group's program director called the recent number of dead dolphins "disturbing." "Cape Cod sees an average of 120 dolphin s...

Photo caption: Demonstrators carry a giant mock pipeline while calling for the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline during a rally in Washington on November 6, 2011. NBC News reports : President Barack Obama yesterday rejected a Canadian company's plan to build a U.S.-spanning, 1,700-mile pipeline to carry oil across six U.S. states to Texas refineries, raising the stakes on a bitter election year fight with Republicans. Though the project promises thousands of temporary jobs for the recovering U.S. economy, Obama said a February deadline set by Congress would not allow for a proper review of potential harm from the $7 billion Keystone XL project. "As the State Department made clear last month, the rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline's impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment," Obama said. The plan proposed by Calgary-based TransCanada ...

As climate change progresses, the planet may lose more plant and animal species than predicted, a new modeling study suggests. This is because current predictions overlook two important factors: the differences in how quickly species relocate and competition among species, according to the researchers, led by Mark Urban, an ecologist at the University of Connecticut. Already evidence suggests that species have begun to migrate out of ranges made inhospitable by climate change and into newly hospitable territory. "We have really sophisticated meteorological models for predicting climate change," Urban said in a statement. "But in real life, animals move around, they compete, they parasitize each other and they eat each other. The majority of our predictions don't include these important interactions." These are important because some species may not be able to move fast enough to survive, or they may have to compete with new species or species better able to adap...

TG Daily reports : By 2100, nearly 40 percent of land-based ecosystems - forest, grassland or tundra, for example - will have moved from one type to another. According to a modeling study from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, global climate change will modify plant communities covering almost half of Earth's land surface. The projections indicate that many plant and animal species face increasing competition for survival. Most land that's not covered by ice or desert is projected to undergo at least a 30 percent change in plant cover - meaning humans and animals will need to adapt and often relocate. "For more than 25 years, scientists have warned of the dangers of human-induced climate change," says Caltech scientist Jon Bergengren. "While warnings of melting glaciers, rising sea levels and other environmental changes are illustrative and important, ultimately, it's the ecological consequences that matter most....

BP accused a unit of Halliburton Co. of intentionally destroying evidence that could be used to prove the oilfield services firm shares blame for the blowout that caused the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Halliburton Energy Services Inc. destroyed test results that showed samples of the cement used to seal London-based BP’s Macondo well, which exploded off the Louisiana coast last year, were unstable, BP said in a filing today in federal court in New Orleans. The oilfield services provider also suppressed computer models that might prove Halliburton was at fault “because it wanted to eliminate any risk that this evidence would be used against it at trial,” BP said in the filing. BP asked the court to find that Halliburton destroyed evidence on purpose and to compel the company to turn over for third-party examination the computer used for the modeling. “Halliburton is reviewing the details of the motion filed today,’’ Beverly Stafford, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. “How...

Global warming has brought a "new normal" to the Arctic, with warmer air and ocean temperatures, thinner and less expansive summer sea ice, and greener vegetation in coastal regions abutting the open water. In addition, longer periods of open water during the annual sea-ice melt season is allowing the ocean to take up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, leading to seasonal bouts of ocean acidification in some areas. These broad observations, along with more-detailed looks at some 32 environmental indicators, appear in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2011 Arctic Report Card , released yesterday. The changes have wide implications, from opening new sources of offshore oil, gas, and minerals to speeding the release of heat-trapping methane into the atmosphere as permafrost melts. Even on a continental level, changes in atmospheric circulation patterns at the top of the world can affect the intensity of winter weather well into the lower latitudes. ...

--> Environmental news : Humans to blame for Thailand flooding disaster, experts say. More at the NYT . Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy --> Environmental news : Calm weather today is giving salvage crews hope they will be able to resume pumping the remaining fuel from a cargo ship stuck on a New Zealand reef. The ship Rena has already spilled hundreds of tons of oil and crews are in a race against nature to try and remove the remaining fuel before waves break up the vessel, which has begun to crack apart and is leaning on a 22-degree tilt. Liberian-flagged Rena has been stuck for nine days on a reef 14 miles off the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, spilling about 300 tons of heavy toxic fuel and some of its hundreds of containers into the sea. More MSNBC . --> World news : Libyan government forces brought more tanks into the city of Sirte today to try to break the last pocket of resistance by loyalists of ousted leader ...

MSNBC reports : The Liberian-flagged Rena — which ran aground Oct. 5 on the Astrolabe Reef, about 14 miles from Tauranga Harbour on New Zealand's North Island — was showing obvious structural strain from the worsening conditions, with a vertical crack apparent today on the starboard side of its hull from the deck to the waterline. About 70 containers have fallen overboard as the 775-foot vessel has moved onto a steeper lean. The captain of a cargo ship, which as also spilled hundreds of tons of oil since striking a reef off the New Zealand coast, appeared in a court today to face criminal charges. The 44-year-old Filipino, whose name has not been revealed publicly, was charged with operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk and was released on bail when he appeared in Tauranga District Court, near where his ship appeared to be breaking up in mountainous seas. More dramatic pictures of the ship and the environmental disaster it's caused can be seen at Phot...

--> Environmental news : The high atmosphere over the Arctic lost an unprecedented amount of its protective ozone earlier this year, so much that conditions echoed the infamous ozone hole that forms annually over the opposite side of the planet, the Antarctic, scientists say. "For the first time, sufficient loss occurred to reasonably be described as an Arctic ozone hole," write researchers in an article released online Sunday by the journal Nature . Some degree of ozone loss above the Arctic, and the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole, are annual events during the poles' respective winters. They are driven by a combination of cold temperatures and lingering ozone-depleting pollutants. [North vs. South Poles: 10 Wild Differences] The reactions that convert less reactive chemicals into ozone-destroying ones take place within what is known as the polar vortex, an atmospheric circulation pattern created by the rotation of Earth and by cold temperatures. This past winte...

--> World news : Four Republican senators traveled to Libya today to meet with the nation's new rulers, the highest-profile American delegation to visit the country since the ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. The four lawmakers (pictured from left to right) Marco Rubio, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Mark Kirk planned to meet with members of the National Transitional Council, which is now governing Libya after the rebels forced Gadhafi from power. Gadhafi's whereabouts remain unknown, but the new leaders suspect he is hiding in the southern desert of the North African nation. The senators, whose brief visit was largely shrouded in secrecy, also planned to tour Martyrs' Square and hold a news conference with reporters. After months of fighting, anti-Gadhafi forces seized control of Tripoli and much the country late last month. Battles still continue in three areas — Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, Bani Walid and the southern city of Sabha. (Via AP ) --> US n...

--> Obama news : President Barack Obama will answer questions about issues in the Hispanic community during an online roundtable this morning. The event will be moderated by Jose Siade, Yahoo's editor-in-chief for U.S. Hispanic and Latin America. Obama will respond to questions submitted by readers of Yahoo, MSN Latino, and AOL Latino/Huffington Post Latino Voice on issues that affect the Latino community. The president is expected to address the economy, education, health care and immigration. The event called "Open for Questions With President Obama" or "El Presidente Obama Te Responde" will be streamed live on the White House website. The event comes a week after the Democratic National Committee said it is reaching out to Spanish-language voters as part of its push to sell Obama's new jobs plan. (Via CNN ) --> Election 2012 : Florida is now expected to hold its presidential primary on the last day in January 2012, a move likely to throw the careful...

--> US news : After weeks of political brinkmanship in Congress, the threat of a partial government shutdown appeared to ease yesterday with the disclosure that money to aid victims of natural disasters may last through the end of the budget year after all. The revised estimate suggested there would be no interruption in assistance in areas battered by disasters such as Hurricane Irene and last summer's tornados in Joplin, Mo., and also that lawmakers could act quickly on gridlocked legislation that is needed to keep the government running normally when the new budget year begins on Saturday. Even so, there was no formal announcement that the impasse had been resolved. As a result, it was unclear what the immediate impact would be in the Senate, where a late-afternoon vote was set on legislation that combined the two issues -- short-term disaster relief and longer-range overall government funding -- into one. (Via AP ) --> World news : An elder from Muammar Gaddafi's trib...

--> World news : Lawyer for US hikers jailed in Iran for 2 years says, "The case is over. The court has ordered that they be freed on bail." Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy --> World news : President Barack Obama steps onto the world stage today seeking to head off a looming U.N. showdown over Palestinian statehood and pull his Middle East policy back from the brink of diplomatic disaster. Grappling with economic woes and low poll numbers at home and growing doubts about his leadership abroad, Obama will address the U.N. General Assembly and meet Israel and Palestinian leaders at a critical juncture for his presidency and for America's credibility around the globe. He faces the daunting challenge of reasserting Washington's influence in the Middle East by dissuading the Palestinians from going ahead with a push for statehood in the Security Council in defiance of Israeli objections and a U.S. veto threat. The Obama adm...

--> US news : President Obama proposes $1.5 trillion in new taxes. Responding to a common complaint from Republicans, he said, "This is not class warfare, it's math." Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy --> US news : The death toll from a crash at an air race at Reno, Nevada, has risen to 10, one of the hospitals treating patients from Friday's accident said today. Close to 70 people were injured in the incident. Reports coming in now indicate that the World War II-era plane that plummeted into the crowd underwent years of massive overhauls making it ideal for speed, not for stability. National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind said investigators are looking at whether the plane's apparently damaged elevator trim tab - whose breaking apart was captured in a photograph - played a role in the nosedive crash. Authorities do not know why the aircraft went down. A full investigation could take six to nine mo...

Photo caption: French President Nicolas Sarkozy, center left, with Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, the leader of the interim administration, shaking hand with an injured man. The British prime minister David Cameron stood at the foot of the bed. --> World news : Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France flew to Tripoli, Libya, today, pledging continued military, political and economic support for the country’s new leaders, including help in tracking down the fugitive Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. The journey was the first to the capital by Western leaders since Colonel Qaddafi lost control of the city last month. Both men called for Colonel Qaddafi’s arrest and trial. But, reflecting a broad fear among outsiders about the fragility and factionalism of the Libyan revolution and the possibility of score-settling and bloodshed in the post-Qaddafi era, both Western leaders urged Libya’s rebel administration to avoid reprisals against its adversaries. More at the NY...

Photo caption: A NATO helicopter flies around a building during a gunbattle with Taliban militants in Kabul today. --> World news : A 20-hour gunbattle in the heart of Kabul finally ended this morning as police killed the last few assailants who had taken over a half-built downtown building to fire on nearby U.S. Embassy and NATO compounds. At least six Afghans — four police officers and two civilians — died across the city in the coordinated attack that started yesterday, the Kabul police department said. The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, said that about six or seven rocket-propelled grenades landed inside the perimeter of the United States Embassy in Kabul early in the marathon attack. (Via NBC News ) --> World news : New hurdle for detained US hikers on Iran: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy --> US news : In what is being interpreted as a sharp rebuff to President Barack Obama, Republican Bob Turner won a special Ho...

CNN reports : The summer of 2011 was the second hottest on record for the United States, and the hottest in 75 years, government weather experts said yesterday. Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas experienced their warmest summers ever, with several states seeing an average of more than 86 degrees, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. For meteorological purposes, summer consists of the months of June, July and August. At least 22 people died as a result of the heat wave that swept the nation earlier this summer, according to the National Weather Service. For 15 states, the average temperature ranked among their top 10 warmest, while overall, 46 of the lower 48 states saw average to above-average temperatures. Oregon and Washington were the only exceptions. Texas had the distinction of experiencing the warmest summer on record of any state in America, with an average of 86.8 degrees. Dallas residents sweltered for 40 consecutive days of grueli...