Calif Drought: Schwarzenegger declares a state of emergency

California drought: An ecological time bomb

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday declared a state of emergency because of three  consecutive years of drought.

He urged Calif residents to cut their water consumption by 20 percent or risk mandatory cuts.

Layers of sun-baked earth are exposed in an area of the San Luis Reservoir near Gustine that was previously underwater but was dried out in January because of drought conditions. (Patrick Tehan / Mercury News). Image may be subject to copyright.

The governor said drought conditions were having “a devastating impact” on people, causing enormous financial harm to California’s economy, with losses to the farmers  approaching $3 billion in 2009.

Schwarzenegger reportedly said the water crisis was “self-inflicted, it’s not mother nature’s fault.”

“This drought is having a devastating impact… making today’s action absolutely necessary,” Schwarzenegger said.

“We have a water system that is for 18 million people [but] now we are 38 million. We’ve got to go and redo our water system [to] bring it up to date.”

“The Santa Clara Valley Water District board is expected to consider recommending mandatory reductions of 10 to 20 percent for customers, which include more than a dozen towns and cities, including San Jose.” Mercury News reported.

“Our board was already considering calling for mandatory conservation, and the governor’s proclamation will give them another reason to move ahead with it,” said Susan Siravo, a spokeswoman for the district.

Related News Links:

• Schwarzenegger declares California drought state of emergency

Related Links:

• Images of the Day: California Drought & Folsom Lake
• Warning: California Is Being Mojavefied!
• California ‘Mojavefied’ by 2011?
• Topsoil
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Schwarzenegger Proclaims Water Emergency in Nine Counties
• Drought and Deluge

Avoid Coke, Die Naturally

Coke is most certainly it!

Coke’s no joke, says Aussie cancer research report

Nick Miller
February 28, 2009
Source: theage.com.au

A “WAR on Coke” should be part of a global push to fight cancer, according to a report from the peak international anti-cancer body.

Cutting the consumption of sugary drinks by half is a key recommendation of the World Cancer Research Fund report.

The Kiss of Death? Image Source. Image may be subject to copyright.

It says almost a third of cancer cases are preventable and are caused by sedentary habits and an unhealthy diet.

It recommends that people drink less alcohol and eat less meat and more vegetables.

It also comes out against dietary supplements, despite their anti-cancer claims, because not enough is known about their effectiveness or side effects.

The report was welcomed by Craig Sinclair, director of the Cancer Council Victoria’s Cancer Prevention Centre.

He said it was the most authoritative advice yet on how to cut cancer rates.

Mr Sinclair estimated that up to 5200 cases of cancer a year in Victoria could be prevented by simple improvements to lifestyle and diet. Copyright the author or news agency.

Buried in Lahar

Lahar Burying Chaitén Town, Chile

A view shows a destroyed house at the flooded Chaiten town located some 1,220 km (758 miles) south of Santiago February 26, 2009. REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero. Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• Chaitén explosion causes partial cone collapse

Image of the Day: Austrian Avalanche

Aerial view of an avalanche in Eisenerz, Austria

Aerial view of an avalanche in the town of Eisenerz in Austria’s Styria province February 25, 2009. No injuries were reported. REUTERS/www.fotoflieger.at. Image may be subject to copyright.

Avalanches, rapid flows of snow down mountain slopes, result from either natural triggers or human activity. Avalanches can mix air and water with the descending snow. Powerful avalanches have the capability to entrain ice, rocks, trees, and other material on the slope; however avalanches are always initiated in snow, are primarily composed of flowing snow, and are distinct from mudslides, rock slides, rock avalanches, and serac collapses from an icefall. In mountainous terrain avalanches are among the most serious objective hazards to life and property, with their destructive capability resulting from their potential to carry an enormous mass of snow rapidly over large distances. —Wikipedia.

Volcano Watch: 24 February 2009

Volcanic Activity Report: 18 February – 24 February 2009

Source: SI / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

New activity/unrest:

• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Galeras, Colombia
• Redoubt, Southwestern Alaska

Volcano of the Week: Sibayak

Country:   Indonesia
Region:    Sumatra (Indonesia)
Volcano Type:    Stratovolcanoes
Last Known Eruption:     1881
Summit Elevation:     2212 m     7,257 feet
Latitude:     3.23°N     3°14’0″N
Longitude:     98.52°E     98°31’0″E

Sibayak volcano in NE Sumatra and its twin volcano Mt. Pinto are constructed within a compound caldera. The slightly higher Mt. Pinto partially overtops the 900-m-wide crater of Sibayak on the north. The summit contains a lava dome and an area of hydrothermal alteration visible in this photo. An ash eruption from Sibayak was recorded in 1881, and area residents note legends of eruptions. Photo by Tom Casadevall, 1987 (U.S. Geological Survey). Caption: GVP

Sibayak crater lake. Credit: browngroove via flickr. See source for copyright information.

Ongoing Activity:

• Barren Island, Andaman Is
• Fuego, Guatemala
• Guagua Pichincha, Ecuador
• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Popocatépetl, México
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Sakura-jima, Kyushu
• Santa María, Guatemala
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
• Tungurahua, Ecuador
• Ubinas, Perú

More Droughts in 2009

Argentina’s 2009 crop production was 40-70 lower than in 2008, depending on the crop

Drought in Argentina

NASA Earth Observatory Image: acquired February 23, 2009

NASA Earth Observatory Image: acquired February 22, 2008

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported a severe drought in southern South America, which had severely affected corn, cotton, and soybean crops in Argentina. Total rainfall since December was far below normal in most areas, and the rain that did fall often did not coincide with key points in crops’ growing cycles. Dust storms occurred in January and again in February, despite some late-to-arrive rains.

[NOTE: Dust storms destroy topsoil and accelerate land erosion. According to estimates made by our colleagues at EDRO, by 2012 critically low levels of top soil will have been reached at which point significant crop failures would occur worldwide.]

This pair of natural-color (photo-like) images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite contrasts 2009 conditions (top) in southern Buenos Aires province with the conditions in 2008 (bottom), a more normal year. The province is one of the country’s major corn-growing areas. The difference in overall greenness is dramatic. In 2008, the area was a checkerboard of lush green, a sign that crops were healthy. In the 2009 image, the landscape was pale green and tan, reflecting the struggle that natural and cultivated vegetation was having with the hot, dry summer.

FAS analyst Denise McWilliams said 2009 crop production was 30-60 percent of what it was in 2008, depending on the crop. Drought stress made the corn crop susceptible to insect pests, and in some fields, farmers simply baled the stunted corn crop for use as livestock forage. Likewise, extreme heat and drought struck the season’s first soybean crop during its flowering and seed pod development phase. Meanwhile, the drought and heat caused wide differences in the height and maturity level of cotton crops, even within the same field, which was expected to complicate the harvest.

References:

• USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Office of Global Analysis. (2009, February). World Agricultural Production. (pdf) Accessed February 23, 2009.

NASA images by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey [with minor editions made by FEWW], with input provided Denise McWilliams, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

Instrument:  Terra – MODIS

Related Links:

• Index of Human Impact on Nature
• Topsoil
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

• Food Crisis
• Drought and Deluge
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

Alp-sized mountain range encased in Antarctic ice

A Mountain Range Like the Alps Under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

A view of the remaining part of the Larsen B ice shelf that extends into the northwest part of the Weddell Sea is seen in this handout photo taken on March 4, 2008. Image: Pedro Skvarca/IAA-DNA/Handout via REUTERS/

Radar and gravity sensors have revealed  details of Gamburtsev subglacial mountains, which was originally detected by Russian scientists 50 years ago at the heart of the East Antarctic ice sheet, Reuters reported.

Image Credit: Zina Deretsky / NSF

“The surprising thing was that not only is this mountain range the size of the Alps, but it looks quite similar to the (European) Alps, with high peaks and valleys,” said Fausto Ferraccioli, a geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey.

Related Links:

• NSF Press Release: U.S.-led, International Research Team Confirms Alps-like Mountain Range Exists under East Antarctic Ice Sheet
• Antarctica’s Gamburtsev Province Project (AGAP)
• An animation showing how the Gamburtsevs may have caused the ice sheet to grow

Oh NASA

NASA Still Believes You Need a Rocket Scientist to Launch a Satellite into Orbit!

NASA’s mission to measure carbon dioxide from space fails as the $300 million satellite dives into Antarctica.

NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory and its Taurus booster lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. A contingency was declared a few minutes later. Image credit: NASA TV

OCO was launched on a Taurus XL, the smallest rocket used by NASA.  XL is manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation and has reportedly flown eight times, with a 25 percent failure rate (two failures including the OCO  launch).

In a statement released shortly after the failed launch NASA said:

NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite failed to reach orbit after its 4:55 a.m. EST liftoff this morning from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate. The fairing is a clamshell structure that encapsulates the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere.

The spacecraft did not reach orbit and likely landed in the Pacific Ocean near Antarctica, said John Brunschwyler, the program manager for the Taurus XL.

A Mishap Investigation Board will immediately be convened to determine the cause of the launch failure.

Preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate. The fairing is a clamshell structure that encapsulates the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere.

The European Space Agency, ESA, reconstructed its Cryosat spacecraft after it was destroyed on launch in 2006.  ESA officials recently announced that it would be launched again in late 2009.  However, the future of the OCO mission remains uncertain for now.

This is an artist’s concept of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory. The mission, scheduled to launch in early 2009, will be the first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the principal human-produced driver of climate change. It will provide the first global picture of the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide and the places where this important greenhouse gas is stored. Such information will improve global carbon cycle models as well as forecasts of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and of how our climate may change in the future. Image credit: NASA/JPL. Caption: NASA.

Amazing Images: Spiral Galaxy M101

NASA’s Great Observatories Celebrate the International Year of Astronomy

Spiral Galaxy M101 – NASA’s Great Observatories

Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, JPL, Caltech, and STScI.

In 1609, Galileo improved the newly invented telescope, turned it toward the heavens, and revolutionized our view of the universe. In celebration of the 400th anniversary of this milestone, 2009 has been designated as the International Year of Astronomy.

This image of the spiral galaxy Messier 101 is a composite of views from Spitzer, Hubble, and Chandra.

• The red color shows Spitzer’s view in infrared light. It highlights the heat emitted by dust lanes in the galaxy where stars can form.
• The yellow color is Hubble’s view in visible light. Most of this light comes from stars, and they trace the same spiral structure as the dust lanes.
• The blue color shows Chandra’s view in X-ray light. Sources of X-rays include million-degree gas, exploded stars, and material colliding around black holes.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, JPL, Caltech and STScI

The galaxy Messier 101 is a swirling spiral of stars, gas, and dust. Messier 101 is nearly twice as wide as our Milky Way Galaxy.

• Spitzer’s view [left frame], taken in infrared light, reveals the galaxy’s delicate dust lanes as yellow-green filaments. Such dense dust clouds are where new stars can form. In this image, dust warmed by the light of hot, young stars glows red. The rest of the galaxy’s hundreds of billions of stars are less prominent and form a blue haze. Astronomers can use infrared light to examine the dust clouds where stars are born.

• Messier 101 has a pancake-like shape that we view face-on. This perspective shows off the spiral structure that gives it the nickname the Pinwheel Galaxy. In this Hubble image [middle frame], taken in visible light, the bright blue clumps are regions where new stars have formed. The yellowish core consists mainly of old stars. The dark brown dust lanes are colder and denser regions where interstellar clouds may collapse to form new stars. All of these features are shaped into a beautiful spiral pattern by a combination of gravity and rotation. Astronomers use visible light to study where and how stars form in spiral galaxies.

• Chandra’s image of Messier 101 [right frame], taken in X-ray light, shows the high-energy features of this spiral galaxy. X-rays are generally created in violent and/or high-temperature events. The white dots are X-ray sources that include the remains of exploded stars as well as material colliding at extreme speeds around black holes. The pink and blue colors are emission from million-degree gas and from clusters of massive stars. The pink emission indicates lower-energy X-rays and the blue higher-energy X-rays. One reason astronomers study Messier 101′s X-rays is to better understand how black holes grow in spiral galaxies.

The International Year of Astronomy Great Observatories Image Unveiling is supported by the NASA Science Mission Directorate Astrophysics Division. The project is a collaboration between the Space Telescope Science Institute, the Spitzer Science Center, and the Chandra X-ray Center. Captions: Spitzer Space Telescope

Day Birds Fell From Sky

Residents of New Plymouth, New Zealand discovered their streets littered with hundreds of dead sparrows …

The following was sent by TEAA in Wellington, New Zealand

NZ Terminal Toxic Syndrome

New Zealand: Toxic Waters, Poisoned Land

Raw sewage on streets, in rivers and coastal waters; toxic algae in every nook and cranny, soil contaminated with heavy metals, 1080, dioxins … ; flocks of dead birds falling from the sky …

Hundreds of dead sparrows littered New Plymouth yesterday in what looked like a mass poisoning.

“A former top official at New Plymouth’s lvon Watkins Dow chemical factory has confirmed the worst fears of residents – part of the town may be sitting on a secret toxic waste dump containing the deadly Vietnam War defoliant Agent Orange.” An earlier report said.

Related Links:

• Is NZ’s Toxic Time Bomb Finally Going Off?
• Was Dr Adu-Bobie A Victim of Biological Warfare Experiments?

• Hermaphrodite Lamb Born With Seven Legs
• Truth About NZ

• Paritutu suburb of New Plymouth New Zealand is Dow’s Love Canal. Dow dumped millions of tons of Agent Orange and then allowed homes to be built.

Chaitén explosion causes partial cone collapse

Chaitén volcano explodes causing cone to collapse  partially

Chaitén volcano erupted again Thursday in southern Chile, spewing a large cloud of ash, hot gases  and molten rock into the air, sending a river of lava down its slopes after a  partial collapse of its cone. The explosion prompted officials to evacuate about 150 people who had returned to Chaitén town, which lies about 10 km  from the crater, that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption last year.

Steam rises from the Rio Blanco river after the Chaitén volcano spewed ash in Chaitén, some 1,220 km (760 miles) south of Santiago February 19, 2009. REUTERS/Cristian Brown/Intendencia Region de los Lagos/Handout

“I looked up and saw a tremendous column (of ash), just like in the beginning, one-and-a-half kilometers high,” said  a resident who had returned to Chaitén despite government warnings.

“I didn’t see much because it was overcast, and there was this huge column and fierce sound.”

Deputy Interior Minister Patricio Rosende said Chaitén had experienced “a significant resumption of activity”.

“Our security team has observed an increase in the size of a column of ash and smoke, with a deformation to one side,” he added.

“That leads us to presume that there is a collapse of one of the cones. This is more proof of the imminent risk in the area. It is a time-bomb.”

Luis Lara of the National Geologic and Mining Service  warned that a major eruption could occur anytime.

“There could be a major explosion that could collapse the volcano’s cone,” said Lara.

Chile straddles the South American and Nazca tectonic plates, which makes it one of  the most volcanically active regions on the planet.

With an estimated 2,000 volcanoes of which about a tenth are potentially active, Chile boasts the second largest chain of volcanoes in the world after Indonesia. Some 20 [1 percent] of the the active volcanoes in Chile could erupt at any time.

Based on its recent analysis, FEWW team believes that there’s an 80 percent probability Volcán Guallatiri (northern Chile) could erupt explosively after nearly five decades of dormancy.

Related Links:

• Volcano Watch Special: Volcán Guallatiri
• Chaitén: Volcano with a Mission?
• Chaitén: Volcano that Doesn’t Sleep
• Chaitén’s Fury Ending?

• The Power of Chaitén Volcano
• Chaitén Volcano Still Active
• Chaitén Volcano: No End Seen to Second Massive Eruption
• Chile: Volcano activity prompts mass evacuation

words: 390; links: 8;  image: 1

Volcano Watch: 17 February 2009

Volcanic Activity Report: 11 February – 17 February 2009

Source: SI / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

New activity/unrest:

• Asama, Honshu
• Ebeko, Paramushir Island
• Galeras, Colombia
• Redoubt, Southwestern Alaska

Volcano of the Week: Ebeko

Country:    Russia
Region   :    Kuril Islands

Volcano Type:     Somma volcano
Last Known Eruption:     2005
Summit Elevation:   1,156 m     (3,793 feet)
Latitude:     50.68°N     (50°41’0″N)
Longitude:     156.02°E    (156°1’0″)

An ash-bearing eruption column rises above the North crater of Ebeko volcano on September 9, 1989. An explosive eruption that began on February 2, 1989 continued until April 1990. Three summit craters located along a SSW-NNE line form Ebeko volcano proper, which occupies the northern end of a complex of five volcanic cones at the northern end of Paramushir Island. Historical activity, recorded since the late-18th century, has been restricted to small-to-moderate explosive eruptions from the summit craters. Photo courtesy of Kamchatka Volcanic Eruptions Response Team, 1989. Caption: GVP

The Tokyo VAAC reported an ash plume which drifted NE from Ebeko at an altitude of 0.6 km. Another ash plume was detected drifting SW at an altitude of 1.2 km ft.

Geologic Summary. The flat-topped summit of the central cone of Ebeko volcano, one of the most active in the Kuril Islands, occupies the northern end of Paramushir Island. Three summit craters located along a SSW-NNE line form Ebeko volcano proper, at the northern end of a complex of five volcanic cones. The eastern part of the southern crater of Ebeko contains strong solfataras and a large boiling spring. The central crater of Ebeko is filled by a lake about 20 m deep whose shores are lined with steaming solfataras; the northern crater lies across a narrow, low barrier from the central crater and contains a small, cold crescentic lake. Historical activity, recorded since the late-18th century, has been restricted to small-to-moderate explosive eruptions from the summit craters. Intense fumarolic activity occurs in the summit craters of Ebeko, on the outer flanks of the cone, and in lateral explosion craters. GVP

Ongoing Activity:

• Arenal, Costa Rica
• Dukono, Halmahera
• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka
• Kilauea, Hawaii
• Popocatépetl, México
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Sakura-jima, Kyushu
• Santa María, Guatemala
• Shishaldin, Fox Islands
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
• Tungurahua, Ecuador
• Ubinas, Perú

Photos from Down Under

Australia: A Failing Continent

Killmore East-Murrindindi Complex Fire, Victoria

Among the areas devastated by bushfires in Victoria, Australia, in early February 2009 were Kinglake National Park and the surrounding rural and agricultural areas. The park is located on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range Mountains that arc northward through Victoria and along Australia’s East Coast. The park is only 65 kilometers (about 40 miles) north of Melbourne, and it is important to the city not just as a recreation area, but also because it protects some of the rivers and streams that supply the nearly four million city residents with water. Image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS,  and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Caption [truncated] by Rebecca Lindsey. Date image acquired: February 14, 2009 ; Posted: February 18, 2009]

There are reports more than 100,000 head of cattle have died in the flooding. A Georgetown grazier says the wet season has devastated many properties. (Photo taken February 2009 - exact date unknown - ABC Net North Qld - User submitted)

Debris left behind from the floodwaters hangs from a cane rail bridge at Upper Stone, west of Ingham, in north Qld, on February 7, 2009. (ABC Net - User submitted via ABC Contribute: macad)

Bushfires burn around Maroondah Dam on February 11. Photo: Craig Abraham. theage.com.au Image may be subject to copyright

The Moderators can clearly see what is happening to Australia. Why have the Australian government and scientific community buried their heads in the sand?

Related News Links:

• Australia fire deaths rise to 200 [Video]
  
• Australia is “fighting” a losing war on two fronts [Video]

Related Links:

• Failing Ecosystems
• State of the World
• Future Scenarios
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

4 images; 6 links; 270 words

3.6 million cars in Beijing and counting

Beijing registered 65,970 new motor vehicles in the first 45 days of 2009, or a daily increase of 1,466, Xinhua reported.

Before allowing the stats to become an emotional issue, you should consider the following points.

1. Any Chinese citizen who can legitimately obtain a car, and who has a valid driving license, has [should have] the same right to drive a vehicle in China as does an American, Italian, French, British, Japanese …, or German citizens in their countries.

2. At what stage of the looming ecosystems global collapse should driving a car no longer be considered as an automatic birthright, nor an automobile-centered economy an intelligent option?

Now, the rest of the stats from Beijing:

• Total number of cars in the city:   3.56 million [as of February 14, 2009 – figures from the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau.

• No of new drivers registered in Beijing:  58,590 [in the same period, representing a daily increase of 1,302.

• Total no of drivers in the city:  5.2 million.

Vehicles are stuck in a traffic jam along a major thoroughfare in the central business district of Beijing in this January 29, 2008 file photo. A sudden slowdown in car sales in China and India is threatening to shrink the global auto market this year, promising tougher times for an industry leaning on the two most populous countries to pick up the slack in the West. REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV/Files (CHINA). Image maybe subject to copyright.

The vice mayor of Beijing, Huang Wei, said the number of people killed in traffic accidents was less than 1,000 people last year, for the first time since 1999. Xinhua reported.

“Beijing reported 90 deaths from traffic accidents in its suburban areas since the beginning of this year, or 66 percent of the city’s total traffic deaths in the past six weeks, according to the bureau.” Xinhua said.

“The bureau did not reveal traffic deaths in 2008, but said last year saw the number of people killed in traffic accidents drop by 196 from 2007.”

In an earlier report, Xinhua said that China had recorded 5.1 road accident deaths for every 10,000 motor vehicles in 2007, the highest rate in the world, Reuters quoted  from the report.

Nuclear High Noon in the Atlantic Ocean

sent by a reader

This Dying Ocean Ain’t Big Enough For the Both of US

Or, how we learned to play blind nuclear chicken with the taxpayers unwanted submarines in the middle of the ocean!

Nuclear subs ‘collide in ocean’

BBC UK;  Monday, 16 February 2009

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine was involved in a collision with a French nuclear sub in the middle of the Atlantic, it has been reported.

It is understood HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant were badly damaged in the crash earlier this month.

Despite being equipped with sonar, it seems neither vessel spotted the other, the BBC’s Caroline Wyatt said.

HMS Vanguard, a Royal Navy Vanguard-class submarine photographed in Florida in 1994.

The UK’s Ministry of Defense understandably too embarrassed to  comment on the reports, but insisted nuclear security had not been breached.

BBC defense correspondent said HMS Vanguard, with “very visible dents and scrapes”, had to be towed back into its home base at Faslane on the Firth of Clyde. The submarines were both “seriously-armed”, she also said.

HMS VANGUARD was Launched in 1992 and it is one of four British submarines carrying Trident nuclear missiles. It weighs 16,000 tonnes and is 150m (492ft) long.
It can carry 48 nuclear warheads on a maximum of 16 missiles. A two-year refit was completed in 2007 as part of a £5bn ($7.5billion) contract. Vanguard is due to be replaced in 2024, unless retired earlier by the French Navy.

The alleged incident is being investigated on both sides of the Channel, she said.

The Triomphant class of strategic missile submarines of the French Navy . This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0

The two submarines are key parts of each nation’s nuclear deterrent, and would have been carrying missiles, though both the UK and France have insisted there was no danger of a nuclear incident.

The two 150m-long (492ft) submarines were carrying around 240 sailors between them. A French naval spokesman said the collision did not result in any injuries to the crew.

HMS Vanguard is now back at Faslane, Clyde, one of three UK operating bases for the Royal Navy, about 40 km from Glasgow, Scotland.

Is Emperor Sarkozy gauging its traditional arch rival’s nuclear preparedness? Would France fire first?

Which side would Rahm Emanuel’s White House be on?

words= 370; Images=2