Ask not why your planet is pulling the plug…

Ask what you have done for your planet lately!

SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 931 Days Left

FIRE-EARTH Climate Models show climate change forcings and feedbacks switching global weather patterns onto “primordial tracks.”

FIRE-EARTH Population Model shows mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

Critical Planetary Overload

• Earth is fighting to stay alive! A dead planet cannot support life
  
• Critical Overload Threatens Planetary Life Support Systems
• RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Collapse in Progress

• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

State of Emergency Declared for SF due to RIM FIRE

Rim Fire an “imminent threat to critical infrastructure assets”; Gov declares State of Emergency for SF

The ferocious wildfire that began on August 17 and has been burning out of control in Tuolumne County forced California Gov. Brown to declare a state of emergency 190 miles away in San Francisco late Friday.

The governor said he declared the emergency due to the damage  caused to electrical infrastructure serving the City and County of San Francisco.

Rim Fire had consumed about 126,000 acres (470 km²), as of Saturday, 24 August 2013 @ 05:00UTC, and the blaze continued to grow explosively, as it crossed into Yosemite National Park, burning at least 11,000 acres there.

San Francisco was forced to shut down two of its three hydroelectric power stations in the area due to the fire, according to local reports.

The City gets about 85 percent of its water from Hetch Hetchy reservoir in the Yosemite area, just 3 miles from the current fire boundary.

Highlights of the Governor’s Proclamation

The wildfires that started in Tuolumne County have caused damage to electrical infrastructure serving the City and County of San Francisco, and now threaten damage to property, equipment, and resources of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, said  Calif. Governor Brown in his state of emergency proclamation for the City and County of San Francisco.

As a result, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has been forced to shut down transmission lines with the result that the City and County is affected by the wildfires in the County of Tuolumne and is likely to be further affected should the fire cause additional damage to the City and County of San Francisco’s water and electrical assets in Tuolumne County, including the possible temporary interruption of electricity and/or water delivery.

Due to the imminent threat to critical infrastructure assets, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission declared an emergency, and the City and County of San Francisco declared a local emergency and requested that I proclaim a state of emergency …, said Gov Brown as he signed the Proclamation, declaring a state of emergency in the City and County of San Francisco.

Rim Fire Photo 6. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

The massive fire has so far destroyed at least four homes and a dozen outbuildings in different areas, and was threatening more than 5,500 residences, said the USFS.

Related Links

• RIM FIRE Crosses into Yosemite National Park August 24, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared as Calif. Wildfire Explodes August 23, 2013
• Large Wildfires in the West Burn Homes, Force More Evacuations August 21, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared in 31 Montana Counties due to Wildfires August 20, 2013
• Beaver Creek Fire Consumes 100,000 acres
• “Take Your Essentials Belongings and Pets and GO NOW” August 18, 2013

“Polar Wave Hits Buenos Aires”

Buenos Aires Temperatures hit a low of 2 degrees and a high of 10ºC

Polar wave hits Argentina again with very low temperatures in Buenos Aires. The polar wave which started on Friday in Buenos Aires Province and reached the city and surroundings, pushed down the temperatures to highs of 10°C and lows of 2°C, reported TELAM.

An earlier cold snap hit Argentina on July 19, 2013, said a report.

Original caption: Two girls are protected themselves from the cold with warm clothes while walking in a street in Buenos Aires City, capital of Argentina, on Aug. 23, 2013. Thursday was registered a polar wave in Buenos Aires province, where it is expected that the minimum temperature will be two degrees Celsius and maximum will be ten degrees Celsius until Monday of next week, according to local press information. (Xinhua/TELAM). More images…

Louisiana Sinkhole Swallows Up Trees

Tall trees sinking into underwater cavern at Bayou Corne, Louisiana

Footage shows tall trees sinking into underwater cavern at Bayou Corne in Louisiana. The phenomenon is being caused by the gradual collapse of an underground salt cavern that has put the whole area on alert. It is being closely monitored by emergency authorities, who took the video while carrying out work to try and stop its spread (!!)

Related Links

• What Florida Might Look Like in 2014 Posted by EDRO on December 7, 2009
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities Posted by EDRO on February 5, 2008

Today’s Other Headlines

Typhoon Trami affects 360,000 in central China

• Typhoon Trami, the 12th typhoon to strike China this year, has affected 361,000 people in central China’s Hunan, leaving  30,900 were displaced. The typhoon brought rainstorms mainly to the southeastern and eastern parts of Hunan, with the largest rainfall of 281.6mm. The rains wreaked havoc in 14 counties, cities and districts, damaging 13,350 hectares of crops and toppling 150 houses, said the report.

NSA paid millions to Internet companies to cover mass surveillance costs

• The National Security Agency paid millions of dollars to cover the costs of major internet companies including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook…

Materials implicating Syrian govt in chemical attack prepared before incident – Russia

• Materials implicating the Syrian government forces in chemical weapons use near Damascus were prepared prior to the alleged incident on August 21, the Russian foreign ministry has said.
• “Moscow continues to monitor closely the event surrounding the ‘alleged’ chemical attack near Damascus, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich, said in a statement.”
• “We’re getting more new evidence that this criminal act was of a provocative nature,” he stressed. “In particular, there are reports circulating on the Internet, in particular that the materials of the incident and accusations against government troops had been posted for several hours before the so-called attack. Thus, it was a pre-planned action.”

43 killed, 86 wounded in attacks in Iraq

• At least 43 people were killed and 86 others wounded in attacks, including suicide bombings, across Iraq on Friday, amid growing tensions.

42 killed, more than 500 wounded  in twin explosions in Tripoli, Lebanon

• Two simultaneous explosions rocked the Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing at least 42 people and wounding 358 others.

• Red Cross put the number of killed and injured at 29 and 500, respectively.

 

RIM FIRE Crosses into Yosemite National Park

UPDATED: Saturday, 24 August 2013 @ 05:00UTC

The 126,000-acre (470 km²) fire continues to grow explosively

RIM FIRE continues to grow explosively burning east and has crossed the Yosemite National Park (YNP) boundary, consuming at least 11,000 acres at the edge of the park by Friday afternoon. The fire also continues burning west toward the community of Pine Mountain Lake.

The blaze is actively growing to the north of the Duckwall area and up Kibbie Ridge, southeast, and east. The fire burned actively throughout the night, said Inciweb.

In the next 24 hours the fire is expected to continue up the Tuolumne River canyon, and continue its spread to the north and east.

The fire continues to increase in size and actively through the day and night. It continues to exhibit very large fire growth due to extremely dry fuels and inaccessible terrain.

Fire behavior was very active today with very rapid rates of spread, running surface fire, torching, passive crowning and long range spotting occurring in most all areas of the fire.

Rim Fire burning up Tuolumne River canyon. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

State of Emergency Declared in Tuolumne County

California Gov. Brown declared a state of emergency in Tuolumne County on Thursday due to Rim Fire, one of about 20 fires burning in California. Some 5 dozen major fires are currently burning across the western U.S.

Fire from Hell

Night Photo of The Rim Fire. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

Evacuation Advisory for The City of Tuolumne and Ponderosa Hills

Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation advisory for the City of Tuolumne and Ponderosa Hills.

The blaze started Saturday August 17, 2013 and as of early Saturday it had consumed at least 125,620 acres, with about 5% containment and 2,672 personnel deployed.

The fire is now threatening at least 4,500 homes, up from 2,500 two days ago, and additional undisclosed number of homes were under mandatory evacuations, as of posting.

Officials have closed Highway 120, one of four access routes to YNP, located about 320 km south of San Francisco. More than 4 million people visit the park annually.

Rim Fire Photo 2. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

Related Links

• State of Emergency Declared as Calif. Wildfire Explodes August 23, 2013

• Large Wildfires in the West Burn Homes, Force More Evacuations August 21, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared in 31 Montana Counties due to Wildfires August 20, 2013
• Beaver Creek Fire Consumes 100,000 acres
• “Take Your Essentials Belongings and Pets and GO NOW” August 18, 2013