Island is slowly sinking as sea levels rise. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
How bad is the sea-level rise? Though scientists debate the severity, a new study says at least 316 U.S. cities and towns will be mostly submerged unless pollution can be pulled from the sky.
A rise in sea levels threatens the viability of more than 1,400 cities and towns, including Miami, Virginia Beach and Jacksonville, unless there are deep cuts in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, says an analysis out Monday.
Prior emissions have already locked in 4 feet of future sea-level rise that will submerge parts of 316 municipalities, but the timing is unclear and could take hundreds of years, according to the paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. If global warming continues at its current rate through the year 2100, at least an additional 1,100 cities and towns will be mostly under water at high tide in the distant future.
"It's like this invisible threat," says author Benjamin Strauss,a scientist at Climate Central, a non-profit, non-advocacy research group based in Princeton, N.J., that's funded by foundations, individuals and federal grants. He says these sea levels are much higher than what's predicted this century — typically 1 to 4 feet — because climate change multiplies their impact over hundreds of years. Read more >>
Home prices hit new post-bubble lows in March.
Average home prices were down 2.6% from 12 months earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major markets. Home prices have not been this low since mid-2002.
In 13 of the 20 cities, average home prices fell in March from the
year before. Atlanta fared the worst, with home prices down 17.7% year
over year. Home prices in Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas are
all below their January 2000 levels.
Alternatively, Phoenix
posted the largest gain, with prices up 6.1% from last year. Other
cities showing an uptick included Dallas, Denver and Miami. Overall, the 20-city composite is down about 35% from its peak in 2006. Read more >>
Image via WikipediaBy the time authorities busted a fake AIDS clinic in Miami, it had bilked Medicare of more than $4.5 million. Still, the man behind the scheme remained far ahead of the agents pursuing him.
Michel De Jesus Huarte, a 40-year-old Cuban-American, hadn't simply avoided arrest. He had hatched a plan to steal millions more from Medicare by forming at least 29 other shell companies — paper-only firms with no real operations. Each time, he would keep his name out of any corporate records. Other people — some paid by Huarte, some whose identities had been stolen — would be listed in incorporation papers.
The shells functioned as a vital tool to hide the Medicare deceit — and not only for Huarte. Hundreds of others have used the veil of corporate secrecy to help steal hundreds of millions of dollars from one of the nation's largest social service programs, a Reuters investigation has found. More...
fourwinds10.com Does anyone find this weird? This report was dated on Feb.7th, 2010.
1. Gaithersburg, MD Gaithersburg Police Chief John King resigned with little explanation last week, leaving his colleagues and community members wondering what happened.
2. Guttenberg, IA Police Chief Resigns After Seven Months on the Job, no reason
3. Harrisburg, PA - Richard Pickles retires after serving a month as Harrisburg police chief
4. Culpeper, VA When Scott Barlow announced two weeks ago he would step down from his job as chief of police with the town of Culpeper, it caught a lot of people off guard, including us.
5. Carbondale, IL - Police Chief Resigns, no reason given
6. Austin, MN - Several Austin City Council members said they were "shocked" by Austin Police Chief Paul Philipp's resignation Tuesday morning.
7. Jonesboro, GA - The City of Jonesboro’s new police chief has resigned, five weeks after being named to the top job.
8. Manassas, VA - found this quote: "I hope the Chief enjoys his retirement. Between his service in the Secret Service, Fairfax and Manassas, he’s earned it."
9. West Covina, CA - Tolich, a 21-year veteran of the force, retired nine years before he was eligible for full retirement benefits, Finance Director Thomas Bachman said.
In an email Tolich sent to members of the department, he tells fellow officers that a personal matter involving him and his family led to the sudden departure.
These were either benign stories or little info given. (Bearing in mind that a seasoned cop could probably make a pretty believable alibi for leaving.)
10. Oroville, CA
11. Burlington City, PA
12POLICE CHIEFS RESIGNING!!
. Bellmead, TX
13. Bridgeport, WV
14. Gaston, ID
15. Meigs, GA
16. Independence, LA
17. Miami, FL
18. Britt, IA
19. Nickerson, KS
20. New Holland, PA
21. Navarre, OH
22. Glocester, RI
23. Lithonia, GA
24. Harrison, NY
25. Huntsville, AL
26. Moose Lake, MN
27. Boxborough, MA
28. Sutton, WV
29. Itta Bena, MS
30. St. Cloud, FL
31. Menomonie, WI
32. Fanwood, NJ
33. Morton's Gap, KY
34. New Haven, CT
35. Guttenberg, IA
36. South Amboy, NJ
37. Santa Cruz, CA
38. Bakersfield, CA
39. South Pasadena, CA
40. Tulsa, OK
41. Hastings, MN
42. Stamford, CT
43. Dallas, TX
44. Somerville, MA
45. Greensboro, NC
46. Avon, CO
47. Benton, IL
48. Nogales, AZ
49. West Tisbury, MA
50. Gainesville, GA
51. Anniston, AL
52. West Richland, WA
53. Watford City, ND
54. Ponce Inlet, FL
55. Clearwater, FL
56. Monmouth, ME
57. Brookfield, IL
58. Ludowici, GA
59. Orland, CA
60. Springfield, NJ
61. Holt, MO
62. Brookneal, VA
63. Chesterton, IN
64. Edina, MN
65. Birmingham, MI
66. Montebello, CA
67. Vonore, TN
68. Ventnor, NJ
69. New Hartford, NY
70. Kennedy, AL
Some major cities had Police Chief turnover in 2009 (early Infragard info?)
"Most notably are telecoms, banks and energy companies. People who would have insider knowledge if something huge were about to happen.
I stopped at 50 just to get it posted, but there are more, including lots of board members and other executives."
1. Sun Microsystems 2. Royal Bank of Scotland 3. Bank Leumi of Israel 4. Lenovo 5. Wellpoint (on March 1) 6. Ingersoll-Rand 7. Gasco 8. Syntel 9. Motion Picture Television Fund 10. GrainCorp 11. Connaught Plc 12. Netplay TV 13. AgResearch 14. Zain Telecom 15. Ethan Allen Institute 16. Fahrney-Keedy Home & Village 17. Nordzucker 18. France Telecom 19. TransWorld Entertainment 20. Parlux 21. Medical Developments International Ltd 22. PBR (on March 1) 23. Aeropostale 24. Cook Islands Tourism 25. Uranium International Corp 26. San Francisco AIDS Foundation 27. Borders Books 28. YTB International 29. Western Australia Business News 30. Bergen Group Rosenberg 31. Phumelela 32. Bartow Regional Medical Center 33. NV Energy (CFO) 34. Shanda Interactive 35. NB Power 36. Empire Aero 37. Argentina Central Bank 38. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (CFO) 39. Arbitron 40. Lihir Gold Ltd 41. Meredith Corp 42. Red Bull 43. Golden Harp 44. Endo Pharma 45. Nuplex 46. CLICO 47. Mirada (chairman) 48. Remedial Offshore 49. Abercrombie & Fitch Co 50. Commerce Resources (CFO)
