Category Archives: Earth Stuff

News of Earth Changes, climate shifts, weather anomalies, volcanoes, etc

Solar Cause for Large Quakes?

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Study finds correlation between solar activity and large earthquakes worldwide

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Categories: Editors’ picks, Research, Seismic activity, Solar activity

Study finds correlation between solar activity and large earthquakes worldwide

A new study published in the Nature Scientific Reports on July 13 suggests that powerful eruptions on the Sun can trigger large earthquakes on Earth. In the paper, the authors analyzed 20 years of proton density and velocity data, as recorded by the SOHO satellite, and the worldwide seismicity in the corresponding period, as reported by the ISC-GEM catalogue. They found a clear correlation between proton density and the occurrence of large earthquakes (M > 5.6), with a time shift of one day.

The Sun may seem relatively docile, but it is constantly bombarding the solar system with energy and particles in the form of the solar wind.

Sometimes, eruptions on the Sun’s surface cause coronal mass ejections that hurtle through the solar system at extremely fast rates.

The new study suggests that particles from eruptions like this may be responsible for triggering groups of powerful earthquakes.

“Large earthquakes all around the world are not evenly distributed– there is some correlation among them,” said co-author Giuseppe De Natale, research director at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Rome, Italy.

“We have tested the hypothesis that solar activity can influence the worldwide [occurrence of earthquakes].”

Scientists noted a pattern in some massive earthquakes around the planet– they tend to occur in groups, not randomly. This indicates that there may be some global phenomenon triggering these worldwide tremors.

To address this, researchers searched through 20 years of data on both earthquakes and solar activity– specifically from NASA-ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite– seeking any probable correlations.

solar-flare-july-15-2020

Image credit: NASA/SDO

SOHO, located about 1.45 million km (900 000 miles) from our planet, monitors the Sun, which helps scientists track how much solar material strikes the Earth.

By comparing the ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue– a historical record of powerful tremors– to SOHO data, the researchers noticed more strong earthquakes happened when the number and velocities of incoming solar protons increased.

When protons from the Sun peaked, there was also a spike in earthquakes above M5.6 for the next 24 hours.

“This statistical test of the hypothesis is very significant,” said De Natale. “The probability that it’s just by chance that we observe this, is very, very low– less than 1 in 100 000.”

After noticing there was a correlation between solar proton flux and strong earthquakes, the researchers went on to propose a mechanism called the reverse piezoelectric effect.

Compressing quartz rock, something common in the Earth’s crust, can produce electrical pulse through a process called the piezoelectric effect. The researchers think that such small pulses could destabilize faults that are nearing rupture, triggering earthquakes. Signals from electromagnetic evens, such as earthquake lightning and radio waves, have been recorded occurring alongside quakes in the past.

Some scientists think these events are caused by the quakes themselves, but other studies have spotted strong electromagnetic anomalies before huge earthquakes and not after, so the exact nature of the correlation of earthquakes and electromagnetic fields is still debated.

Meanwhile, this new explanation suggests that electromagnetic anomalies are not the result of earthquakes, but cause them instead. As positively charged protons from the Sun hit the Earth’s magnetic bubble, they generate electromagnetic currents that propagate across the world. Pulses created by these currents go on to deform quartz in the crust, ultimately triggering earthquakes.

Reference

“On the correlation between solar activity and large earthquakes worldwide” – Marchitelli, V. et al. – Scientific Reports – https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67860-3 – OPEN ACCESS

Abstract

Large earthquakes occurring worldwide have long been recognized to be non Poisson distributed, so involving some large scale correlation mechanism, which could be internal or external to the Earth. Till now, no statistically significant correlation of the global seismicity with one of the possible mechanisms has been demonstrated yet. In this paper, we analyze 20 years of proton density and velocity data, as recorded by the SOHO satellite, and the worldwide seismicity in the corresponding period, as reported by the ISC-GEM catalogue. We found clear correlation between proton density and the occurrence of large earthquakes (M > 5.6), with a time shift of one day. The significance of such correlation is very high, with probability to be wrong lower than 10–5. The correlation increases with the magnitude threshold of the seismic catalogue. A tentative model explaining such a correlation is also proposed, in terms of the reverse piezoelectric effect induced by the applied electric field related to the proton density. This result opens new perspectives in seismological interpretations, as well as in earthquake forecast.

Featured image credit: NASA/SDO

from:    https://watchers.news/2020/07/16/study-finds-correlation-between-solar-activity-and-large-earthquakes-worldwide/

First Came GMO’s And Now GDO”S

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NGOs call for moratorium on controversial ‘gene drive organisms’

By Natasha Foote | EURACTIV.com

 Jul 3, 2020 (updated:  Jul 6, 2020)

Synthetic gene drives are a new form of genetic engineering intended to permanently modify or eradicate populations, or even whole species, in the wild. [SHUTTERSTOCK]

After over 78 environmental and agricultural organisations signed a letter this week calling for a moratorium on gene drive technology, EURACTIV took a closer look at the controversial technology to find out about what it is and the implications it holds.

The letter, which was sent on Tuesday (30 June), urges the European Commission to outlaw the release of so-called ‘gene drive organisms’ (GDOs), calling the technology “incompatible” with the Commission’s proposed EU strategy on biodiversity protection. But scientists say the technology holds enormous potential for eradicating some of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Synthetic gene drives are a new form of genetic engineering, created via the genetic engineering method CRISPR/CAS9, and are intended to permanently modify or eradicate populations, or even whole species, in the wild.

They are currently defined as a system where genetic elements or traits have more than the usual 50% chance of being inherited, irrespective of whether they benefit or harm the organism inheriting them.

The idea of gene drive technology is to force the inheritance of detrimental genetic traits. In this way, scientists hope to reprogramme or eradicate species such as disease-carrying insects and invasive species.

This is a key distinction between GDOs and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are explicitly designed to contain the spread of modified traits.

Debate about if and how GDOs could be safely employed is proceeding. As it currently stands, GDOs fall under the EU GMO directive but an EFSA expert working group, mandated by the Commission, is currently developing recommendations for regulations on gene drive modified organisms, expected by the end of 2020.

While it may sound far fetched, this is far from mere conjecture, with experiments already well underway both in the EU and elsewhere.

from:    https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/ngos-call-for-moratorium-on-controversial-gene-drive-organisms/

Hurricane off the East Coast

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Tropical cyclone organizing off North Carolina, expected to break another 2020 Atlantic hurricane season record

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Tropical cyclone organizing off North Carolina, expected to break another 2020 Atlantic hurricane season record

A new tropical cyclone is organizing off the coast of North Carolina, U.S. on July 9, 2020. Environmental conditions are conducive for development, and a tropical or subtropical cyclone will likely form later today or tonight — NHC gives it 80% chance of formation in the next 48 hours.

If it gets named — next name in line is Fay — it will be the earliest 6th named storm formation in the Atlantic Ocean on record. The current record holder is Franklin on July 22, 2005.

Just a couple of days ago, on June 6, the basin had another record-breaker — Tropical Storm “Edouard” – the earliest 5th named storm in the Atlantic on record. The previous record-holder for the 5th named storm was Emily on July 12, 2005.

According to Dr. Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at CSU specializing in Atlantic basin seasonal hurricane forecasts, the first 5 Atlantic named storms of 2020 generated a measly 6.7 ACE (Accumulated Cyclone Energy — ACE — an integrated metric that accounts for intensity and duration).

Only 2 Atlantic hurricane seasons on record (since 1851) have had less ACE from 1st 5 storms of the year: 2017 and 1988.

Basically, the first 5 Atlantic named storms of 2020 have been quite weak and of relatively short duration, Klotzbach noted.

The Colorado State University (CSU) has chosen six analogs for its July seasonal hurricane forecast: 1966, 1995, 2003, 2008, 2011, and 2016. All of these years had above-average Atlantic hurricane activity and were generally characterized by cool neutral ENSO or La Nina conditions and warm tropical Atlantic.

Another reason for the active CSU Atlantic hurricane season forecast is odds of El Nino this summer/fall are extremely low. Tropical eastern and central Pacific remain cooler than normal. Atmospheric circulation is looking more La Nina-like with suppressed convection near the dateline.

Low pressure off the coast of North Carolina at 12:10 UTC on July 9, 2020. Credit: NOAA/GOES-East, RAMMB/CIRA

At 12:00 UTC on July 9 (08:00 EDT), the low pressure area (expected to become Tropical Cyclone “Kay”) was located about 96 km (60 miles) east of Wilmington, North Carolina. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has given it 80% chance of formation through the next 48 hours.

An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate this system later today.

The thunderstorm activity is currently located well east and northeast of the low’s center, but only a small increase in organization or a reformation of the center closer to the thunderstorm activity could result in the formation of a tropical or subtropical cyclone later today or tonight, NHC forecaster Brown noted.

The low is expected to move northeastward or north-northeastward near or just offshore of the North Carolina Outer Banks later today and then along the mid-Atlantic coast tonight through Friday night (local time), July 10.

Regardless of development, the system is expected to produce locally heavy rainfall that could cause some flash flooding across portions of eastern North Carolina, the coastal mid-Atlantic, and southern New England during the next few days.

Gusty winds are also possible along the North Carolina Outer Banks today, and along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coasts Friday and Saturday.

Featured image: Low pressure off the coast of North Carolina at 12:10 UTC on July 9, 2020. Credit: NOAA/GOES-East, RAMMB/CIRA

from:     https://watchers.news/2020/07/09/tropical-cyclone-organizing-off-north-carolina-expected-to-break-another-2020-atlantic-hurricane-season-record/

Consciousness and Plants

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The Science of Plant Intelligence Takes Root

July 1, 2020

Jack Fox-Williams, New Dawn
Waking Times

For centuries, Western philosophy has viewed animals and plants as unthinking automatons. The famous 17th (century) scientist and philosopher, Rene Descartes, maintained that non-human organisms cannot reason or feel pain; they are robotic machines that purely act on impulse.1

While science has recently proven that animals are intelligent creatures, capable of logical thinking and emotional experience, the notion that plants possess a similar kind of intelligence is largely disregarded by the scientific community. It is assumed that because plants do not possess a brain, they have no conscious experience.

 

 

Goethe and other thinkers through history observed that plants constitute an intelligent life-form, develop symbiotic relationships with other organisms, and can respond to complex changes in the environment. While the scientific community explains the intelligence of plant behaviour in terms of electrical and chemical responses to sensory stimuli, others believe that plants could provide a valuable insight into other forms of consciousness.

One of the most famous scientists to observe plant intelligence was the English naturalist, geologist and biologist, Charles Darwin.2 While Darwin is most prominently known for the theory of evolution, he was deeply fascinated by the behaviour of plants and made a valuable contribution to the botanical sciences. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Darwin maintained that plants are not unthinking automatons but highly complex and receptive organisms. In one of his last works, The Power of Movement in Plants, published in 1880, Darwin suggests that the root of the plant operates in a similar way to the neural networks found in lower animals, receiving information about the external environment and communicating it to other areas of its structure, writing:

“It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the tip of the radicle thus endowed (with sensitivity) and having the power of directing the movements of the adjoining parts, acts like the brain of one of the lower animals; the brain being seated within the anterior end of the body, receiving impressions from the sense-organs and directing the several movements.”3

Unfortunately, Darwin’s observations were rejected by leading scientists of the time, particularly the eminent plant physiologist Julius Sachs. He labelled Darwin an amateur scientist who performed careless experiments and acquired misleading results. However, in-depth analysis of plants is beginning to reveal they possess highly developed neural systems and even utilise the same neurotransmitters we do.

Modern Science & Plant Intelligence

While it is easy to dismiss these findings as pseudoscience, more and more scientists are recognizing that plants exhibit brain like-functions and make sentient decisions. In 2009, researchers Dieter Volkmann, Stefano Mancuso, Peter W Barlow and Frantisek Baluska, published an article in the journal Plant Signal Behaviour entitled “The ‘root-brain’ hypothesis of Charles and Francis Darwin” in which they examined Darwin’s root hypothesis and whether current scientific literature supports his theory.

Based on complex analysis of scientific data, they concluded that “recent advances in chemical ecology reveal the astonishing complexity of higher plants as exemplified by the battery of volatile substances which they produce and sense in order to share information with other organisms about their physiological state.”4 According to the paper, plants can recognise self from non-self and roots, even secrete signalling exudates that “mediate kin recognition.” Moreover, plants are “capable of a type of plant-specific cognition, suggesting that communicative and identity re-cognition systems are used, as they are in animal and human societies, to improve the fitness of plants and so further their evolution.”

…  One of the most interesting scientists to have undertaken research into plant intelligence is Monica Gagliano, associate professor at the University of Western Australia. In 2014, she conducted a series of experiments using Mimosa Pudicas plants to work out whether plants ‘memorize’ changes in their environment.

In order to test her hypothesis, she placed the plants in pots and then loaded each one onto a specially designed plant-dropping device. Each plant was dropped from a height of six inches, sixty times in a row at five second intervals. The plants would fall onto a soft foam to prevent them from bouncing, with the drop quick enough to cause the plants to curl up their leaves. Since the plants were not harmed in any way, Gagliano wondered whether they would eventually realize the drop did not signify an external danger. After a short amount of time, she found that “some individuals did not close their leaves when fully dropped.”The plants realized that falling from six inches would not cause them any harm and no longer curled their leaves.

Members of the scientific community were cynical of Gagliano’s findings, suggesting the plants merely became exhausted. Gagliano disproved this theory by taking a group of plants and placing them in a shaker in order to deplete them of energy. She found that the plants still curled their leaves, indicating they only became unguarded when dropped from a height to which they had become accustomed.5

Gagliano’s research has significant implications in terms how we see plants. The fact that they respond differently to situations that present no harm to those that do, implies plants recall sensory information and ‘memorise’ changes around them. While there is much uncertainty as to how plants recall this information, Gagliano believes it could be representative of a distributed intelligence operating entirely different to the mammalian brain.

This corresponds with Rupert Sheldrake’s ‘morphic resonance’ hypothesis that memories are not stored in the brain but in a universal informational field. …   Examples like this suggest memory may not be an entirely neurological phenomenon but exists in other forms; this may explain why plants are able to memorise information without possessing a physical brain structure.6

The notion that plants operate within a wider intelligence network is supported by recent experiments in plant communication. …

Plant Sentience in Shamanic Cultures

The belief that plants constitute an intelligent life form is commonplace in shamanic cultures, particularly those found in South America. As Michael Winkelman, Associate Professor at Arizona State University states, “the self-identifications with the broader universe, particularly personification of the sentient cosmos which is a hallmark of ecopsychology, is a fundamental aspect of shamanism.” 

…  Many people who have ingested Ayahuasca, an entheogenic brew made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine in South America, report telepathic communication with plants, animals and people during the experience; the natural world becomes personified as an animated fractal intelligence that is constantly adapting, changing and evolving. …

In this sense, recent experiments into plant intelligence prove what shamanistic cultures have known all along – that plants are intelligent, sensitive and sentient life-forms.9 By observing their behaviour, we can learn more about the natural world and the complexity of all living things. Although modern science provided us with tremendous technological innovation and development, the reductionist belief that animals and plants are ‘mechanical’ in their nature, rather than a dynamic expression of intelligence and consciousness, has disconnected us from our environment and thus ourselves.

A Challenge to Outmoded Paradigms & Thinking

There are significant social, philosophical and religious implications for plant intelligence. It challenges the anthropocentric and monotheistic view that humans are the only species with a mind and a soul – we are not the most important entity in the universe but part of an interconnected web of life.

…(he independent scholar, author, teacher, and speaker on sacred plant medicine Stephen) Buhner notes:

“The older, reductive, mechanistic paradigm that looked at the earth as a ball of non-sentient resources, we do with as we please, has reached its limits. It is destroying the ability of most life forms to endure, and the eco-systems of the planet. Younger and less mentally restrictive scientists in every field are finding that the world around us is far different than the picture that reductionists have created and taught us to believe. All life is intelligent, none of it is mechanical, and you cannot use the ecosystems of the planet as resources for unlimited extraction.”11

Plant intelligence also forces us to reconsider the nature of consciousness. Mainstream science currently posits the idea that consciousness is an epiphenomenon of the brain (it is generated by the brain). When we die, the brain ceases to operate, and consciousness switches off. In this reductionist perspective, plants and animals possess a very limited consciousness since their brains are not as neurologically complex. But the fact of the matter stands that modern science does not understand the mystery of consciousness and the process by which neural pathways, which are non-conscious, become self-aware as a complex web of connections in the brain. If plants have the ability to recall sensory information, socially communicate with each other, and respond to complex changes in the environment, we are forced to rethink our current models of consciousness. It may be the case that the human brain constitutes a very specific expression of consciousness, and intelligence manifests across a broad spectrum of life with plants possessing their own unique form of awareness which modern science does not currently understand.

To conclude, there is increasing evidence suggesting plants are an intelligent life-form. Recent scientific experiments indicate that plants are able to retain sensory information, respond to complex changes in their environment and even communicate with one another via complex biological networks. While we have yet to fully understand how plant intelligence works, these experiments challenge the orthodox scientific view that plants are non-sentient, and intelligence only emerges via neural pathways in the brain.

…

An interview with Stephen Harrod Buhner accompanies this article and can be read inside the same issue of New Dawn.

from:    https://www.wakingtimes.com/2020/07/01/the-science-of-plant-intelligence-takes-root/

Of Geomagnetics

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New study shows Earth’s magnetic field can change 10x faster than currently believed

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New study shows Earth's magnetic field can change 10x faster than currently believed

A new study published in Nature Communications shows that previous changes in the direction of Earth’s magnetic field reached rates that are up to 10 times larger than the fastest currently reported variations of up to one degree per year. The authors combined computer simulations of the field generation process with a recently published reconstruction of time variations in Earth’s magnetic field spanning the last 100 000 years.

Study authors, Dr. Chris Davies from the University of Leeds – School of Earth and Environment and Catherine Constable from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, in California, demonstrate that these rapid changes are associated with local weakening of the magnetic field.

This means these changes have generally occurred around times when the field has reversed polarity or during geomagnetic excursions when the dipole axis — corresponding to field lines that emerge from one magnetic pole and converge at the other — moves far from the locations of the North and South geographic poles.

The clearest example of this in their study is a sharp change in the geomagnetic field direction of roughly 2.5 degrees per year 39 000 years ago. This shift was associated with locally weak field strength, in a confined spatial region just off the west coast of Central America, and followed the global Laschamp excursion – a short reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field roughly 41 000 years ago.

Similar events are identified in computer simulations of the field which can reveal many more details of their physical origin than the limited paleomagnetic reconstruction.

This detailed analysis indicates that the fastest directional changes are associated with the movement of reversed flux patches across the surface of the liquid core. These patches are more prevalent at lower latitudes, suggesting that future searches for rapid changes in direction should focus on these areas.

“We have very incomplete knowledge of our magnetic field prior to 400 years ago. Since these rapid changes represent some of the more extreme behavior of the liquid core they could give important information about the behavior of Earth’s deep interior,” Dr. Davies said.

“Understanding whether computer simulations of the magnetic field accurately reflect the physical behavior of the geomagnetic field as inferred from geological records can be very challenging,” Professor Constable said.

“But in this case, we have been able to show excellent agreement in both the rates of change and general location of the most extreme events across a range of computer simulations.”

“Further study of the evolving dynamics in these simulations offers a useful strategy for documenting how such rapid changes occur and whether they are also found during times of stable magnetic polarity like what we are experiencing today.”

All images courtesy Christopher J. Davies & Catherine G. Constable, Nature Communications

Reference:

“Rapid geomagnetic changes inferred from Earth observations and numerical simulations” – Christopher J. Davies & Catherine G. Constable – July 6, 2020 – Nature Communications volume 11, Article number: 3371 (2020) – DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16888-0 – OPEN ACCESS

Abstract

Extreme variations in the direction of Earth’s magnetic field contain important information regarding the operation of the geodynamo. Paleomagnetic studies have reported rapid directional changes reaching 1° yr−1, although the observations are controversial and their relation to physical processes in Earth’s core unknown. Here we show excellent agreement between amplitudes and latitude ranges of extreme directional changes in a suite of geodynamo simulations and a recent observational field model spanning the past 100 kyrs. Remarkably, maximum rates of directional change reach  ~10° yr−1, typically during times of decreasing field strength, almost 100 times faster than current changes. Detailed analysis of the simulations and a simple analogue model indicate that extreme directional changes are associated with movement of reversed flux across the core surface. Our results demonstrate that such rapid variations are compatible with the physics of the dynamo process and suggest that future searches for rapid directional changes should focus on low latitudes.

Featured image credit: Christopher J. Davies & Catherine G. Constable, Nature Communications

from:    https://watchers.news/2020/07/06/rapid-reversal-earth-magnetic-field-study/

On the Coming Lunar Eclipse July 5

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Lunar Eclipse In Capricorn: Clearing Old Blockages

We are having a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn on July 5th in most of the world, and on the night of July 4th in the Americas. Similarly to the Full Moon that occurred a month prior, it will be a penumbral eclipse which only has a subtle shade on the Moon. It will be visible (weather permitting) wherever it will be nighttime in part or all of its duration. This includes most of North America, most of Africa, Western Europe, parts of Central Europe, New Zealand, and all of South America.

This is the third of three eclipses occurring back to back, with this one following a more powerful annular Solar Eclipse in Cancer during the recent Solstice and a penumbral Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius on June 5th. This one is also the last of a series of Eclipses occurring in the Cancer-Capricorn axis which began in 2018. This specific eclipse season marks the transition into the Gemini-Sagittarius polarity.

Eclipses reflect evolutionary changes in specific areas of our lives which can play out over the following 6 months and can begin up to 6 weeks prior. However, they are also part of a 1.5-2 year process in which the Lunar Nodes and most Eclipses are in the same signs. The changes that occur are connected to the sign they are in, the planets they are configured to, and how this all lines up with our individual astrological blueprint.

Lunar Eclipse In Capricorn

This eclipse is the final one of a process in which we have been experiencing a collective recalibration in how Cancer and Capricorn energies are expressed. This slightly began in summer of 2018  but kicked in more strongly later that year and in 2019.

This eclipse puts an emphasis on Capricorn themes as it is near the South Node which has recently entered Sagittarius. This indicates changes associated with Capricorn that can have a decreasing effect in how its energies are expressed, however, negative expressions of this sign can also come up more so to bring it to our attention.

The shifts that could occur, both challenges and developments, are more about changes or what we need to let go of, in relation to the energies of Capricorn to help facilitate a different balance with Cancer. Capricorn energies and aspects of life can be more constructive when they are expressed towards a Cancerian focal point. The areas of life in which it manifests also depends on how it is interacting with your natal astrology chart/blueprint.

Capricorn is the sign of ambition, career, duty, business, achievement, responsibility, discipline, mastery, and authority. It can be calculated, strategic, practical, orderly, conservative, realistic, authoritative, controlling, cautious, and worldly. It is a social climber and concerned with status.  It is also associated with governing and banking structures with this eclipse opposing the Sun of the United States, similarly to 1982 and 2001 in the months before 9/11.

Negatively, Capricorn energy can be serious, cynical, cold, unrelenting, and seek power over others. It can be overly focused on work and/or materialism while creating an imbalance with emotional, personal and domestic areas of life which is where the focal point has been considering previous North Node eclipses in Cancer.

Lunar Eclipse Near Jupiter-Pluto Conjunction 

Now and in recent weeks, Jupiter and Pluto (also in Capricorn) are in their second exact conjunction of 2020 which is strong until July 10th, but gets triggered by the Sun from July 13th-16th. However, this energy is a part of the backdrop until late in the year with this eclipse highlighting it as well.

As mentioned in previous articles, this energy can be revealing of hidden matters or perhaps issues connected to abuse, control, manipulation, obsessions, shadows, or power dynamics. However, it can also be a time of acquiring deeper perspectives and can have transformational potential as well. Considering that this is a South Node eclipse, it can be a time of releasing or changing negative qualities of this energy.

Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, is not too far from these planets in the same sign. The combination of the three  (especially Saturn-Pluto) in close proximity reflects the heavy energy of 2020. Saturn brings a level of seriousness and minimizes the expansiveness of Jupiter with restrictions and limitations, especially as Saturn rules the sign that they are both in.

Lunar Eclipse Square Mars-Chiron, Trine Uranus, and Sextile Neptune

Mars in Aries is approaching Chiron which will be exact around July 13th and 14th. This is also in a T-square with the Full Moon Eclipse (and Mercury Retrograde) carrying its themes for an extended period. This reflects similar energy in the lunations of previous months.

Mars’ conjunction with Chiron (configured to the eclipse) can reflect action and assertiveness that is healing, integrating, bridging, whole-istic, unorthodox, and addressing wounds. With it being in Aries, it could be connected to identity, individualism, or  individuality. It can also be about addressing negative expressions of Mars such as anger, aggression, or abuse.

The square to Mars can play out as conflicts, competitiveness, and intensity. We have already been seeing this on a collective level as the eclipse a month prior was also in a square with Mars. In the following 5-6 month window of this current eclipse season, Mars will be going retrograde which reinforces the energy of these Mars flavoured eclipses.

This eclipse is in a trine with Uranus in Taurus which can be innovative, inspiring, original, revolutionary, rebellious, and good for shaking things up. It is also in a sextile with Neptune, although this isn’t too strong, it can be supportive in a compassionate, creative, spiritual, or idealistic way.

Mercury Retrograde, Venus in Post-Retrograde Shadow

Mercury has been retrograde since mid-June and will be going direct a week following this eclipse. It is in Cancer reflecting a time of adjustments and re-orientations around home/domestic life, family, security, land/property, emotional comforts, caregiving, and emotional connections with others. As it begins to move forward in the days after July 12th and over the following weeks, we may see that we are proceeding in an adjusted way around Cancerian matters or developments that have come up since early June.

Venus ended its retrograde on June 25th and we are now in a time in which we are progressing differently around Venus ruled areas that have been playing out since the first half of April.  It can be connected to relationships, love, values, social dynamics, desires, worth, aesthetics, art, or perhaps financial matters.

Things To Consider

What have been some of the major themes for you over the past 1.5 years and what are they leading you towards? What area(s) of life do you need to let go of negative ways of expression? differently? What aspects of your ambitions do you need to release? Where should you be applying yourself in a healing way? Are there fragmented parts of your life that should be integrated to bring more harmony into your life? How can you achieve this?

These are just some examples of what can be playing out for you but not limited to these either. Keep in mind that the themes of this specific eclipse will play out until the Fall. It is best to try to tune into this energy as it happens and pay attention to your feelings to help you in decisions you need to make in the future.

astrology

 

The two weeks following this eclipse can be a good time to initiate any sort of releasing process if you feel necessary. The eclipse begins at 3:07am Universal Time on July 5th with it peaking at 4:30am and finishing at 5:52am. The Moon begins to wane after 4:44am GMT. You can click here to see when the peak will be in your time zone.

from:    https://www.collective-evolution.com/2020/07/04/lunar-eclipse-in-capricorn/

A Few Predictions from John Hogue

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(A few prophecies from the Modern Nostradamus, John Hogue:)

DATELINE: 31 May 2020

THE PRELUDE::     May you Live in Interesting Quickening Times

This title is a variation on the Chinese proverb that euphemistically sugarcoats a time of upheaval, an end of the long vacation from history’s whirlwinds as “Interesting.” There are many moving future-trending parts to the quickening evolutionary crisis of the human race. HogueProphecy will try to keep giving you the larger perspective as the news plays its infantile fixation on one running part of this engine of global crises, such as the Coronavirus. The first important trend to anticipate is upon us: what kind of “new abnormal” is the world about to enter, just as it looks like the US and Europe are the first large centers of civilization after China to stagger out of their economic shutdowns and slowly resuscitate the engine of commerce.

What are signs of the damage to look out for?

How long will the recovery be? Will half the world emerge unemployed? Are the dire figures initially being reported about job losses going to end up in fact not at all as high as feared, just like forecasts of the Coronavirus’ death toll have turned out far lower than first anticipated?

Given the quickening times, I will start off my May 2020 Article wave with several news-trending articles providing you with quick oracular insights into future trending themes….

Awakening from a COVID Pan-Econodemic Coma
By early July we will begin to See How much Damage Shutting Down the World. did To the Body Economic

…  The ILO believes half of the world’s workforce—1.6 billion workers—will have no jobs to return to. Like gig workers in the developed world, the informal or day-job workers on short-term contract will be hardest hit, especially in developing nations.

The ILO report came out at the end of April, roughly after month one of the global economic “coma” as my oracle likes to call it, declaring, “The first month of the crisis is estimated to have resulted in a drop of 60 percent in the income of informal workers globally.”

Imagine an epic peril of 436 million businesses descending into foreclosures, bankruptcy with a good chance that a third of these, even half might disappear?

The EU’s (Eeeyoooky!) unemployment stats are coming in. If COVID-19 prays on the vulnerable with compromised immune systems and preexisting conditions, the post-COVID-Pan-Econodemic has the econimmunologically unhealthy members of the EU in its clutches.

Italy is in shock and crawling out of the shutdown weak as a kitten. Then there’s Spain’s Labor Ministry revealing unemployment benefits hitting an all-time high of 5.2 million at the end of April alone. The Spanish working in the food and beverage services lost 720,000 jobs. With the Bank of Spain forecasting an economic shrinkage of 6.8 percent and even 12.4 percent in 2021, “if the Covid-19 lockdown lasts eight or 12 weeks.”

… People’s habits have undergone a shock from this plague and lockdown. China, the first outbreak center opening back to business in early April, has seen a lot less people returning to crowded malls, movie theaters, sport venues and restaurants.

France’s President Macron has already declared in late May 2020 a cancellation of August vacations. Say au revoir to millions of French folk crowding their own and Italy’s restaurants and Mediterranean beaches sustaining millions of French, Italian or the 720,000 Spanish food and beverage workers hoping to go back to work in hotels, bistros and kitchens of these nationally critical tourist markets.

The same vacuum of international tourism is coming all over the world.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) when faced in mid-May with 90 percent of air travel grounded in Europe and the US since the start of the pandemic are now predicting a great downsizing of the airline industry as a consequence. They have concluded recovery back to pre-COVID-shutdown levels will take until 2023, a minimum of three years.

…Now let’s look to the EU’s economic heart, the German economy, without which there would be no Euro economic union, since the euro is a deutschmark in disguise. It’s heading for its worst recession since it had no economy left standing at the end of World War II. The German Economic Ministry predicted it will shrink by 6.3 percent in 2020 but rebound by 5.2 GDP after the economy revives in the second half of 2021.

…( Rick) Sanchez (of RT America) pointed out that that printing unbacked fiat money to abandon “is not good for consumers.” The reckoning comes later when they begin bracing for rises in the cost of living because of all this printing by fiat across the globe. The funny money has been cranked out by central banks in the trillions—$5 trillion by the US alone in mid-May.

…I can feel it clearly, we aren’t coming back to pre-COVID prices for food or much else. There will be a slow climb in costs that the US president will do whatever magic tricks with stimuli of the economy he can to curtail. That means the real pocketbook pain is coming “after” the 3 November presidential election.

…Also by year’s end perhaps 40 percent of the 40-million plus unemployed are still unemployed.

…

If you Can’t Work You Can’t Eat
The Hunger Games of Global Food Shortages are Here

No work equals no income, equals no food security and no future. This, framed in my brevity of words, is what the ILO Director-General Guy Ryder related in his late April UNO report. He added that a “massive” rise in poverty was coming in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown and lockdown. And what he didn’t mention directly is these newly-impoverished people will go hungry.

…

Where there’s Plague, there’s War:
US Playing Games of Military Chicken with Iran  From the Persian Gulf to Venezuela And US is behind Renewal of Tensions in Hong Kong
Plus the Sino-Indian Border Crisis in Ladakh

There is an important overview not being addressed by the US mainstream media. There is a reason behind why President Trump threatens to defund WHO (World Health Organization) because it answers, in his view, as an agent of China.

…

! EARTH TRAUMA WARNING !
Sooner than Later: Tropical Oceans
Will Begin Collapsing in Ten Years!

It is coming in our lifetimes! The timing, speed and intensity of temperature rises have brought forward estimates by scientists of a catastrophic biodiversity loss their earlier findings pushed back far over the horizon window to the distant year of 2100.

from:    http://www.hogueprophecy.com/2020/06/preview/

The sections have been greatly abbreviated.  Go to the link to read the full text.

 

EUropean Volcanic Action

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Active volcanism found under the heart of northwest Europe

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Researchers have found new hints of active volcanism near some of the most populated areas of Europe. The study obtained GPS monitoring data from antennae across western Europe to monitor subtle movements in the Earth’s surface believed to be caused by an increasing subsurface mantle plume.

The Eifel region is situated roughly between the cities of Aachen, Trier, and Koblenz, in west-central Germany. It is home to many early volcanic features, including the circular lakes called maars.

These are the remains of violent volcanic explosions, like the one which created Laacher See– the largest lake in the area. The eruption that produced this is believed to have happened some 13 000 years ago, with similar explosive strength to the catastrophic 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption.

The mantle plume that possibly triggered this historic activity is thought to be still present, spreading up to 400 km (250 miles) down into the earth. However, it is unknown whether it is still active or not.

“Most scientists had assumed that volcanic activity in the Eifel was a thing of the past,” said lead author, professor Corne Kreemer. “But connecting the dots, it seems clear that something is brewing underneath the heart of northwest Europe.”

eifel-germany-june-10-2020-2

Eifel scenery. Image credit: Walter Koch/Wikimedia

In the new study, the research team who are based at the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of California, Los Angeles used information from thousands of commercial and state-owned GPS antennae all over western Europe to monitor how the ground is moving vertically and horizontally as the Earth’s crust is stretched, sheared, and pushed.

The findings revealed that the region’s land surface is moving in an upward and downward direction over a huge area centered on the Eifel, and areas including Luxembourg, eastern Belgium, and the southernmost province of the Netherlands, Limburg.

“The Eifel area is the only region in the study where the ground motion appeared significantly greater than expected,” Kreemer stated. “The results indicate that a rising plume could explain the observed patterns and rate of ground movement.”

The new results support a previous study that found seismic evidence of magma moving underneath the Laacher See– both studies indicate that the Eifel area has an active volcanic system.

“This does not mean that an explosion or earthquake is imminent, or even possible again in this area,” the researchers noted.

“We and other scientists plan to continue monitoring the area using a variety of geophysical and geochemical techniques, in order to better understand and quantify any potential risks.”

Reference

“Geodetic evidence for a buoyant mantle plume beneath the Eifel volcanic area, NW Europe” – Geophysical Journal International – Kreemer, C. et al. – DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggaa227

Abstract

The volcanism of the Eifel volcanic field (EVF), in west-central Germany, is often considered an example of hotspot volcanism given its geochemical signature and the putative mantle plume imaged underneath. EVF’s setting in a stable continental area provides a rare natural laboratory to image surface deformation and test the hypothesis of there being a thermally buoyant plume. Here we use Global Positioning System (GPS) data to robustly image vertical land motion (VLM) and horizontal strain rates over most of intraplate Europe. We find a spatially coherent positive VLM anomaly over an area much larger than the EVF and with a maximum uplift of ∼1 mm yr−1 at the EVF (when corrected for glacial isostatic adjustment). This rate is considerably higher than averaged over the Late-Quaternary. Over the same area that uplifts, we find significant horizontal extension surrounded by a radial pattern of shortening, a superposition that strongly suggests a common dynamic cause. Besides the Eifel, no other area in NW Europe shows significant positive VLM coupled with extensional strain rates, except for the much broader region of glacial isostatic adjustment. We refer to this 3-D deformation anomaly as the Eifel Anomaly. We also find an extensional strain rate anomaly near the Massif Central volcanic field surrounded by radial shortening, but we do not detect a significant positive VLM signal there. The fact that the Eifel Anomaly is located above the Eifel plume suggests that the plume causes the anomaly. Indeed, we show that buoyancy forces induced by the plume at the bottom of the lithosphere can explain this remarkable surface deformation. Plume-induced deformation can also explain the relatively high rate of regional seismicity, particularly along the Lower Rhine Embayment.

Featured image credit: Walter Koch/Wikimedia

from:     https://watchers.news/2020/06/12/active-volcanism-found-under-the-heart-of-northwest-europe/

Who WIll Speak for the Animals?

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“Trump Administration’s New Rules Promote Senseless Slaughter Of Alaska’s Most Iconic Wildlife”

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By Anthony McLennan / Truth Theory

Black bears, wolves and coyotes are among the animals facing increasingly cruel deaths by hunters as the Trump administration finalizes a reversal of the 2015 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

The cancellation of this act would allow trophy hunters to use all kinds of treacherous methods to lure out and kill their prey, including:

– Attracting and killing grizzly bears with bait, including junk food. Even if this means disturbing their hibernation.

– Using dogs to hunt bears.

– The use of artificial light to enter the dens of bears, wolves and coyotes. And the right to kill mothers, cubs and pups.

– Slaughtering swimming caribou and other animals from boats and planes.

The changes to the 2015 regulations were first drafted in 2018.

The new ruling is expected to be published in the Federal Register this week, and will be effective in a month’s time.

It will leave animals across Alaska’s 20 million acres of federal land and 10 natural preserves facing an uncertain future.

Senseless slaughter, amazingly cruel policy

Those in favor of the regulation change are arguing that it is necessary to cull the top predatory animals. Supposedly in order to allow the populations of caribou, moose and other game – which are also hunted – to flourish.

The alignment of state and federal regulations in Alaska is another of their arguments.

Conservationists however are concerned about the cruelty as well as the ecosystem damage.

Said Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity:

“The Trump administration’s new rules promote the senseless slaughter of some of Alaska’s most iconic wildlife on the very preserves and refuges meant to protect biological diversity.

“It’s outrageous to bait and shoot brown bears and litter pristine public lands with cruel and indiscriminate traps.”

Jesse Prentice-Dunn, senior representative for the Sierra Club’s Responsible Trade Program, added: “This amazingly cruel policy is just the latest in a string of efforts to reduce protections for America’s wildlife at the behest of oil companies and trophy hunters.”

As you might know, tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Google (Also Youtube), increasingly censor information that does not fit the mainstream narrative. Freedom of speech should be the basic human right, however, in the current era, you are not allowed to share your views anymore. Fortunately, alternative platforms appear that are censorship-free. Minds.com is one of these platforms. You can sign up for free, HERE, and make sure you follow Truth Theory on Minds.

Featured Image credit: PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Image 1 Credit: Sylvie Bouchard

Image 2 Credit: designpics

from:    https://truththeory.com/2020/06/11/trump-administrations-new-rules-promote-senseless-slaughter-of-alaskas-most-iconic-wildlife/

Meanwhile, Back on the Farm…

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World on the brink of worst food crisis in 50 years, UN warn

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Categories: Featured articles, Hunger

World on the brink of worst food crisis in 50 years, UN warns

The UN has warned that the world is on the verge of the worst food crisis in at least 50 years as the recession following the COVID-19 pandemic may put basic nutrition beyond impoverished people’s reach. The organization has urged governments to take prompt action to prevent further disaster as 49 million more may fall into extreme poverty due to the outbreak.

Food systems are failing and the pandemic is mitigating the situation, said UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, on June 9, 2020.

“Unless immediate action is taken, it is increasingly clear that there is an impending global food emergency that could have long term impacts on hundreds of millions of children and adults.”

Although harvests of crops are holding up and export bans and protectionism have been largely avoided so far, the worst of the pandemic’s impacts and the recession that will follow is yet to be felt.

This year, about 49 million more may fall into extreme poverty due to the coronavirus as the number of people who are severely food insecure will rapidly expand.

“Even in countries with abundant food, we see risks of disruptions in the food supply chain,” Guterres pointed out. “We need to act now to avoid the worst impacts of our efforts to control the pandemic.”

The secretary-general plotted a three-point plan to restore the world’s ailing food systems and avoid further harm.

First, countries must focus aid on the worst-affected regions to ward off immediate disaster and for governments to prioritize food supply chains.

“That means designating food and nutrition services as essential while implementing appropriate protections for food workers. It means preserving critical humanitarian food, livelihood, and nutrition assistance to vulnerable groups.”

“And it means positioning food in food-crisis countries to reinforce and scale up social protection systems,” he added.

Second, countries must strengthen social protection systems for nutrition by safeguarding access to safe and nutritious food, especially for young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, older people, and other vulnerable groups.

“This includes supporting children who no longer have access to school meals,” he continued.

Third, people must invest in the future by building a more inclusive and sustainable world.

“We have an opportunity to build a more inclusive and sustainable world,” Guterres said. “Let us build food systems that better address the needs of food producers and workers. Let us provide more inclusive access to healthy and nutritious food so we can eradicate hunger.”

According to Maximo Torero, the chief economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the world’s food systems were under threat as never before in modern times, as the coronavirus outbreak and lockdowns hinder people’s ability to buy and sell food.

“We need to be careful,” Torero reminded, “this is a very different food crisis than the ones we have seen.”

The UN’s report on the pandemic’s impact on food security shows that harvests are healthy and supplies of staple foods are robust, but most people get theirs from local markets, which are affected by the lockdowns.

Loss of income attributed to lockdowns are also putting food out of reach for many people who are already struggling. Although global markets remained steady, the price of basic necessities has started to hike in some nations.

Lockdowns are slowing down harvests while millions of seasonal laborers are not able to work. Food waste has hit damaging levels as farmers are forced to throw perishable produce as the result of supply chain problems. Meat industry plants have been forced to close as well.

“The Covid-19 crisis is attacking us at every angle,” said Agnes Kalibata, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for the 2021 food systems summit.

“It has exposed dangerous deficiencies in our food systems and actively threatens the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, especially the more than 1 billion people who have employment in the various industries in food systems.”

Kalibata added that there was also a chance for countries to improve food systems, alongside reducing poverty and increasing worldwide resilience.

“Food has always brought people together and it can again if we build back better as it relates to our food systems.”

Featured image credit: Prayag Tejwani/Unsplash

from:    https://watchers.news/2020/06/10/world-on-the-brink-of-worst-food-crisis-in-50-years-un-warns/