When I was in school, for a few weeks every year, caterpillars were the most exciting thing happening
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On the trunks of small magnolia trees, in the corner where a table leg meets a table top, on a low damp wall in the shade – here the hairy caterpillars gather together. They travel in long lines, they sleep as close to each other as possible (displaying, it is called in science, a high level of “gregariousness”), as though the scariest thing a predator might see is a cat’s disembodied tail or retched-up fur ball, or a too-small itchy blanket.
If you take a picture of a hairy caterpillar and put it on the internet, a stranger will tell you that you can safely touch it, while another will say you can’t under any circumstances. “What about that says, ‘Touch me’?” one person will ask. “People really need to get a grip,” another will write. “The caterpillars which are hazardous to touch are the hairy Marys, which have hollow hairs with venom. The hairy Marys are very obviously hairy.” This person sounds exactly like an older kid talking to a younger one.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/15/2024 - 17:00
07/15/2024 - 16:48
A Salvation Army chief in Victoria says the government should mandate that all homeless deaths are reported. Follow today’s news headlines live
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Weather update for Victoria and New South Wales: rain, floods, gusts and snow
Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier to provide an update on the rainfall across Victoria.
That has given us minor to moderate flood warnings including in parts of the Yarra River this morning, as all of the rain from last night and yesterday evening drains out through the river network and out towards the ocean.
Take actions to protect your life and property against potential hazards caused by flooding.
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07/15/2024 - 15:54
Nearly 300,000 residents without electricity as governor gives company until end of month to address outages
Power outages persist in Houston, Texas, after Hurricane Beryl tore through the area last week leavings hundreds of thousands of residents without electricity in the middle of a brutal heatwave.
Nearly 300,000 customers have now gone almost a week without electricity and air conditioning during excessive heat where temperatures are reaching 94F (34C).
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07/15/2024 - 15:50
The hikers were a father and daughter lost in Canyonlands and a woman who passed out at Snow Canyon state park
Three hikers died over the weekend in suspected heat-related cases at state and national parks in Utah, including a father and daughter who got lost on a strenuous hike in Canyonlands national park in triple-digit temperatures.
The daughter, 23, and her father, 52, sent a 911 text alerting dispatchers that they were lost and had run out of water while hiking the 8.1-mile (13km) Syncline Loop, described by the National Park Service as the most challenging trail in the Island in the Sky district of the south-east Utah park.
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07/15/2024 - 15:43
Figure represents 64-66% of global output of tetrafluoromethane and hexafluoroethane, MIT study finds
Emissions of two of the most potent greenhouse gases have substantially increased in China over the last decade, a study has found.
Perfluorocarbons are used in the manufacturing processes for flat-panel TVs and semiconductors, or as by-products from aluminium smelting. They are far more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2, and can persist in the Earth’s atmosphere for thousands of years, unlike CO2 which can persist for up to 200 years.
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07/15/2024 - 14:00
Melting of ice is slowing planet’s rotation and could disrupt internet traffic, financial transactions and GPS
The climate crisis is causing the length of each day to get longer, analysis shows, as the mass melting of polar ice reshapes the planet.
The phenomenon is a striking demonstration of how humanity’s actions are transforming the Earth, scientists said, rivalling natural processes that have existed for billions of years.
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07/15/2024 - 13:11
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah is suing three government departments over Ella’s fatal asthma attack
The mother of a nine-year-old girl who became the first person in the UK to have air pollution cited on their death certificate has said she wants an official apology for her daughter’s suffering as her high court claim against the government heads to trial.
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah is suing three government departments for compensation for personal injury arising from the illness and premature death of her daughter Ella, who had a fatal asthma attack in 2013 after being exposed to excessive air pollution.
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07/15/2024 - 12:04
MPs approve cull of 481 bears this year, up from 220 last year, to control ‘overpopulation’ of protected species
Romania’s parliament has approved the culling of almost 500 bears this year in an effort to control the “overpopulation” of the protected species after a deadly attack on a hiker sparked nationwide outcry.
The country is home to 8,000 brown bears, according to the environment ministry, Europe’s largest brown bear population outside Russia.
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07/15/2024 - 10:00
Winds blow particulates from drying lake into minority neighborhoods, exposing people to harmful particulates
Toxic dust storms from the dried, exposed Great Salt Lake bed disproportionately poisons the air in Utah neighborhoods with higher levels of Hispanic and Pacific Islander populations, new research finds.
The disparity between their average exposure and those of white populations will grow as the lake dries further.
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07/15/2024 - 10:00
Lending puts banks in ‘complete violation’ of commitments to Paris agreement, climate group says, even as overall funding to sector ebbs
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Australia’s big four banks are in “complete violation” of commitments to the Paris climate accord by funding fossil fuel expansion even as their overall lending to the sector continues to ebb, according to a new report.
The climate activist group Market Forces said in the report that the banks lent the industry $3.6bn in 2023, bringing their total loans to more than $61bn since 2015. Last year, though, was first year in the past eight that banks avoided explicitly backing a new or expanded fossil fuel project.
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