TURNING THE ENVIRONMENT AND REMAKING REEFSAs the 1960s came to an end, the rapid development of the American postwar decades began to take a noticeable toll on the environment, and the public called for action. In November 1971, the newly created Environmental Protection Agency announced a massive photo documentary project, called DOCUMERICA, to record the adverse effects of modern life on the environment. More than 100 photographers were hired not only to document specific issues, but to capture images showing how we interacted with the environment. By 1974, more than 80,000 photographs had been produced. The National Archives recently made 15,000 of these images available, and I've spent much of the past week combing through those to bring you these 46 glimpses of America in the early 1970s, with an eye toward our then-ailing environment. [46 photos] Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose: 1024px 1280px Water cooling towers of the John Amos Power Plant loom over a home located across the Kanawha River, near Poca, West Virginia, in August of 1973. (Harry Schaefer/NARA) One of four bicyclists holds her ears against the roar of the jet taking off from National Airport in Washington, D.C., in May of 1973. (John Neubauer/NARA) # Clark Avenue and Clark Avenue bridge, looking east from West 13th Street, obscured by industrial smoke, in Cleveland, Ohio, in July of 1973. (Frank J. Aleksandrowicz/NARA) # Balloon logging in the Culp Creek drainage area of Oregon, near Eugene. (NARA) # A mountain of damaged oil drums lies in a heap in an Exxon refinery near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in December of 1972. (John Messina/NARA) # A man rides in a graffiti-covered subway car in New York City in May of 1973. (Erik Calonius/NARA) # Construction on Lower Manhattan's West Side, just north of the World Trade Center, May 1973. (Wil Blanche/NARA) # Off-shore oil wells in Galveston Bay, off the Texas shore, in June of 1972. (Blair Pittman/NARA) # Looking east along Alaska's Glen Highway, toward Mount Drum (Elevation 12,002 Feet) at the intersection of the highway and the under-construction Trans-Alaska Pipeline in August 1974. The 48-inch diameter pipeline will cross the roadway between the two vehicles. The exact point is marked by a pair of wooden stakes along the right shoulder at Mile 673. (Dennis Cowals/NARA) # Prospect Creek Camp, lower foreground. In this eastern view the pipeline and road will run below the low hills in the distance left to right, north to south. Photo taken in August of 1973. (Dennis Cowals/NARA) # An exhibit at the first symposium on low-pollution power systems development, held at the Marriott Motor Inn, Ann Arbor, Michigan, in October of 1973. Vehicles and hardware were assembled at the EPA Ann Arbor Laboratory. Photo shows participants looking over the ESB "Sundancer," an Experimental Electric Car. (Frank Lodge/NARA) # Empty steel beer and soft drink cans are used to build experimental housing near Taos, New Mexico, in June 1974. Designer Michael Reynolds stands next to an interior wall in one of the structures. The exterior walls are constructed using eight-can units as building blocks. According to Reynolds, these houses, whose walls require 70,000 cans in all, can be built as much as 20 percent cheaper than conventional homes. (David Hiser/NARA) # Associate County Court Judge Fred Burns, on his daily bike ride to the Seward County Courthouse in Nebraska, in May of 1972. (Charles O'Rear/NARA) # Smoke and gas from the burning of discarded automobile batteries pours into the sky near Houston, Texas, in July of 1972. (Marc St. Gil/NARA) # Day becomes night when industrial smog is heavy in North Birmingham, Alabama, as on this day in July of 1972. Sitting adjacent to the U.S. Pipe plant, this is the most heavily polluted area of the city. (LeRoy Woodson/NARA) # Signs crowd the roadway in this Las Vegas street scene, shot in May of 1972. (Charles O'Rear/NARA) # A train on the Southern Pacific Railroad passes a five-acre pond, which was used as a dump site by area commercial firms, near Ogden, Utah, in April of 1974. The acid water, oil, acid clay sludge, dead animals, junked cars and other dump debris were cleaned up by several governmental groups under the supervision of the EPA. Some 1,200,000 gallons of liquid were pumped from the site, neutralized and taken to a disposal site. (Bruce McAllister/NARA) # Two youths in Uptown, Chicago, Illinois, a neighborhood of poor white southerners, in August of 1974. (Danny Lyon/NARA) # Underground in the Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company Mine #3, near Richlands, Virginia, in April 1974. The tunnel is 1,250 feet below the surface and one-and-a-half miles from the elevator shaft that brings the miners to and from work. (Jack Corn/NARA) # One of several highrise apartments whose construction was stopped by city ordinance to preserve Breezy Point Peninsula in Queens, New York, for public recreational use. Photo taken in May of 1973. (Arthur Tress/NARA) # A crowded Hollywood freeway, seen in California in May of 1972. (Gene Daniels/NARA) # A "closed" sign appears in front of this Portland, Oregon, gas station in June 1973, due to a gasoline shortage. (David Falconer/NARA) # A Dune Buggy races down a dune in a recreational park near Florence, Oregon, in September of 1972. (Gene Daniels/NARA) # A view down Colfax Avenue, in Denver, Colorado, in April of 1972. (Bruce McAllister/NARA) # The Peabody Coal Company in the Black Mesa area of Northeastern Arizona, in May of 1972. (Lyntha Scott Eiler/NARA) # An abandoned car sits in New York's Jamaica Bay, in June of 1973. (Arthur Tress/NARA) # From the National Water Quality Laboratory, a June 1973, photo of the severely deformed spine of a Jordanella fish, the result of methyl mercury present in the water. (Donald Emmerich/NARA) # An experimental wind tunnel device built at Colorado State University, seen in June of 1972. Smoke is piped into this model of the city of Houston, allowing scientists to study the effect of buildings and city layout on velocity and direction of smog dispersion. (Bill Gillette/NARA) # The LIMTV (linear induction motor test vehicle) is tested at the Department of Transportation's high speed ground test center near Pueblo, Colorado, in March of 1973. The experimental vehicle is designed to operate at speeds up to 250 miles per hour, using electro-magnetic forces for noiseless propulsion. (Bruce McAllister/NARA) # Mount Rainer and Tacoma's industrial waterfront, in Washington State in April of 1973. (Doug Wilson/NARA) # A young man and woman smoke pot during an outing in Cedar Woods, near Leakey, Texas, in May of 1973. (Photo taken with permission) (Marc St. Gil/NARA) # Cars were jammed even more than usual into every spare space at a downtown commercial parking lot during a bus strike in Washington, D.C., in May 1974. Some 250,000 people were forced to find alternate forms of transportation. Monumental traffic jams resulted as drivers learned there were more cars than legal places to park. (Jim Pickerell/NARA) # Manhattan Bridge tower in Brooklyn, New York City, framed through nearby buildings, in June of 1974. (Danny Lyon/NARA) # An illegal dumping area, seen just off the New Jersey Turnpike, facing Manhattan across the Hudson River, in March of 1973. To the south is the landfill area of the proposed Liberty State Park -- which was built and opened in 1976. (Gary Miller/NARA) # A sidewalk in the Bronx becomes a playground for these youngsters, in April of 1973. (Dan McCoy/NARA) # This house off Route 250, near Cadiz, Ohio, has had its windows and doors knocked out, legally qualifying it as "derelict." A coal company was stripping the land around it in October of 1973. (Erik Calonius/NARA) # A dead duck mired in a five-acre pond filled with acid water oil and acid clay sludge in April of 1974. Unwary animals that came to the pond and were covered with the liquid were unable to survive. It was later cleaned up under EPA supervision. (Bruce McAllister/NARA) # A Crown Zellerbach pulp mill dumps solid waste into a pond it formerly used for log storage in June of 1973. (Doug Wilson/NARA) # An abandoned "Giant Slide" at Coney Island marks the decline of the area's recreational use in May of 1973. (Arthur Tress/NARA) # Youngsters on the July 4th holiday at the Kosciusko Swimming Pool in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant District, New York City, in 1974. (Danny Lyon/NARA) # A dust storm rises over Phoenix, Arizona, on Labor Day, 1972. No rain had fallen in the area for 153 days. (Cornelius M. Keyes/NARA) # A couple in the waves of Galveston Bay, Texas, in May of 1972. (Blair Pittman/NARA) # The City of Seattle and Interstate Highway 5, with Elliott Bay at right, seen in June of 1973. (Doug Wilson/NARA) # An aerial view of old cars secured along a bank of the Cuyahoga River to prevent erosion at Jaite North of Peninsula, Ohio, near Cleveland, seen in September of 1975. The river passes through private property at this point. The river and valley are part of the newly created Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, a 20-mile stretch of largely undeveloped land between the metropolitan districts of Cleveland and Akron. (Frank J. Aleksandrowicz/NARA) # One of the daughters of Jerry Rainey, a miner who was out on strike against the Brookside Mining Company in Brookside, Kentucky, for several months during 1974. She stands on the back porch of the house Rainey rents from the company. Notice the outhouses in the background. The family was threatened by eviction during the lengthy and sometimes violent strike despite a state law which outlaws such practices. (Jack Corn/NARA) # Near Boston's Logan Airport, an airplane comes in for a landing over homes on Neptune Road in May of 1973.
A rainbow appears at the base of the Yellowstone River Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) A coyote hunts in a the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A tree sits on a submerged island in Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Tourists watch the "Old Faithful" geyser, which erupts on average every 90 minutes, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 1, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) # A herd of elk travels through the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A blue-billed ruddy duck lands in Floating Island Lake in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Grizzly bear cubs play on the snow in the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011. Picture taken June 24, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # View of the "Morning Glory" hot spring with its unique colors caused by brown, orange and yellow algae-like bacteria that thrive in the cooling water, turning the vivid aqua-blue to a murkier greenish brown, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) # The Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest in the United States and third largest in the world, in Yellowstone National Park, photographed on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # The view of the Absaroka Mountain Range of the north eastern stretch of park at sunrise in Yellowstone National Park, on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Bison swim across the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A bison emerges after swimming across the Yellowstone River, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Visitors watch for wolves in the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A Chipmunk stretches while begging for food in Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) # Trees line the bank of the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A fly fisherman on the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A wolf walks with a pair of elk legs in the Hayden Valley, after killing and eating the elk, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # The Grand Prismatic Spring, in Yellowstone National Park, photographed on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A closer view of Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring. Picture taken June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A stream meanders through the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 21, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A black bear swims in Rainy Lake, near Tower Falls, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Steam rises from geysers and thermal features in the Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park, on June 23, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Michael Smith, center, prepares dinner for son Parker Smith, left, and wife Stacy Smith, right, at their camp site near Norris in Yellowstone National Park, on June 23, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Old Faithful Geyser erupts in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A herd of bison grazes in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # The shadow of a pine tree on a eroding cliff face composed of columnar basalt, near Tower Falls, in Yellowstone National Park, on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A bull elk with velvet still on its antlers grazes near Madison in Yellowstone National Park, on June 19, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # View of the Lower Falls at the Yellowstone Grand Canyon in the Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) # People stand at the brink of the 93-meter tall Yellowstone River Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A bison rubs scratches itself against a fire hydrant to help remove molting fur, outside the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel in Yellowstone National Park, on May 15, 2011. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images) # Water flows on the ever changing travertine-depositing Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, on June 22, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A calf in a herd of bison in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 22, 2011. On average over 3,000 bison live in the park. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A gray wolf and its nursing pups are pictured in Yellowstone National Park in this photograph obtained on May 4, 2011. Federal protections for some 1,200 gray wolves in Montana and Idaho officially ended on May 5, under unprecedented legislation passed by Congress last month removing them from the endangered species list. (Reuters/National Park Service) # Silica from geysers (front) and the partially frozen Yellowstone Lake (back) at the West Thumb Geyser Basin in the Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) # A black bear walks across a meadow near Rainy Lake in Yellowstone National Park, on June 20, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Sunset Lake hot spring, lined with unique colors caused by multicolored algae-like bacteria called thermophiles that thrive in the cooling water, turning the vivid aqua-blues to a murkier greenish brown. Photographed in Yellowstone National Park, on June 1, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) # Boiling mud and water in Yellowstone National Park, on June 2, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) # A night exposure of Old Faithful Geyser erupting in Yellowstone National Park, on June 23, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A fox hunts near Tower Falls in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Boulders deposited long ago by glaciers dot the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, photographed on June 23, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # A black bear runs across a road bridge spanning the Yellowstone River near Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, on June 24, 2011. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart) # Crystal clear water under the bridge: River so clean you can see 50ft up from the bed
A crystal clear river is so clean that the 50ft deep riverbed can be seen from a bridge crossing over the water. The 30km long Verzasca River in Switzerland is renowned all over the world for its clear turquoise waters. But while pictures of the sparkling waters are often taken from the mountains surrounding the river or from bridges crossing over it, it's much rarer to see photographs taken from the bottom of it. Under the bridge: This stunning photo by Claudio Gazzaroli, 38, shows the arched Roman Bridge crossing over the Verzasca River in Switzerland from 50ft under water From the bottom of the deep: The Verzasca Riverbed can be seen with startling clarity because the water is so crystal clear Photographer, Claudio Gazzaroli, 38, visited the river where he came across the arched bridge known as the 'Roman Bridge'. Claudio decided to jump into the water with his camera to capture this novel perspective on a well-known tourist site. 'I wanted to show the beauty of this place in a new way,' said Claudio.'The clarity of the water is amazing and the bridge is an ancient landmark. I love this place and have visited it about two hundred times. 'I have wanted to capture the bridge over the river in this perspective for many years. But only now am I happy with the picture.' Fancy a dip?: Photographer Claudio Gazzaroli jumped into the Verzasca River to finally get the 'perfect' picture
Morning glories: British photographer captures spectacular images of orbs of dew sparkling on the wispy heads of dandelionsDew drops sparkling on English dandelions provide the inspiration for photographer Sharon Johnstone, who uses 'macro' lenses, flashes and even special effects such as coloured gel backgrounds to capture dew looking like jewelled orbs. Johnstone says that her nature shots can also be spur-of-the-moment and instant. 'I might find the perfect dew drop on a blade of grass and get the shot straight away,' she said. The 'macro' photographs of dew on dandelions are captured by photographer Sharon Johnson Johstone says she rarely visits her art studio these days, being more interested in macro photography The photographs are captured using a macro lens by Johnstone, who kneels to get the perfect close-up shot Johnstone specialises in fine art photography, and also produces oil and water still lifes 'I have always loved photography. These days I spend very little time in my art studio, my passion for photography having completely taken over,' says Johnstone. 'I think I am at my happiest when I am crawling around on my hands and knees exploring a small patch of moss dripping with sparkling dew in the early morning sun.' The photographer uses a Canon 7D, Canon EFS 60mm f2.8 macro lens and up to three Canon EF25 II extension tubes, as well as a Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX flash to capture her shots. More...The macro flash really helps with lighting,' says Johnstone, 'I have a drawer full of things I have collected for backgrounds. Colourful feathers, wrapping paper, coloured lighting gels, sweet wrappers. Another effect I sue is spraying flowers or using a small syringe to place single droplets - this can be fiddly, especially for my needle and pin shots.' 'For something like the pin and needle shots, just placing the droplets can be a challenge and then getting everything focused and the background blurred can be tricky and might require quite a few attempts. With the nature stuff, it’s more about finding that compostion that ticks all the boxes. I might find the perfect dew drop on a blade of grass and get the shot straight away. 'With macro photography I escape to another little world. I love exploring the tiny details in nature that often get over looked. I love finding beautiful colours and abstract compositions within nature and can even get passionate about photographing moss or a blade of grass. The close-ups are captured outdoors in the early morning Johnstone's main interest is fine art still lifes Wispy seeds blow off a dandelion head Macro photographs require specialised lenses - although some macro photographers achieve impressive effects by simply turning a 'normal' lens backwards Johnstone captures her nature still lifes 'on her knees', using a camera to capture extreme close ups For years now, governments around the world have been sinking large pieces of outdated or damaged equipment into the ocean, turning them into artificial reefs. Subway cars, naval ships, tanks and more rest on the sea floor, making homes for sea life and attracting divers. Artists have been busy as well, erecting underwater sculptures and memorials. Collected here are images from the past few years of some of these man-made reefs, both big and small. Divers swim above the former missile-tracking ship Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Key West, Florida May 21, 2010. Algae and sponges are already growing on exterior surfaces of of the 523-foot-long vessel and more than 113 different species of fish are now calling it home. The artificial reef was intentionally sunk May 27, 2009. (Reuters/Don Kincaid/Florida Keys News Bureau) The Oriskany, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, was towed 24 miles off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Wednesday, May 17, 2006, to form an artificial reef. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy/Jeffrey P. Kraus) # The decommissioned aircraft carrier Oriskany is sunk off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Wednesday, May 17, 2006, to form an artificial reef. The 888-foot ship took about 37 minutes to sink below the surface. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy/Jeffrey P. Kraus) # The sunken USS Oriskany's radar boom is shown the coast of Pensacola, Florida on Sept. 2, 2007. The Navy sank the aircraft carrier in May 2006 to create an artificial reef. (AP Photo/www.DrDive.com, Jim Meyers) # Figures are seen in underwater sculpture installation "The Silent Evolution" by British artist Jason de Caires Taylor between Cancun and Isla Mujeres December 11, 2010. Taylor used "life casts" made from materials that encourage coral growth to build the installation on the sea bed off the coast of Cancun. (Reuters/Jorge Silva) # Part of an underwater sculpture called "The Silent Evolution" by artist Jason de Caires Taylor on the sea floor between Cancun and Isla Mujeres December 11, 2010. The installation will form a new home for a variety of aquatic creatures at the Cancun and Isla Mujeres National Marine Park and is designed to reduce the impact over half a million tourists have on the area's natural reefs every year, the artist said. (Reuters/Jorge Silva) # Tugboats tow the decommissioned U.S. military missile-tracking Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg past the historic Custom House in Key West, Florida to a point about seven miles south of the island city May 26, 2009. The 523-foot-long ship, that once tracked space launches off Cape Canaveral, Florida, and also monitored Soviet missile launches during the Cold War, was scheduled be scuttled off Key West on Wednesday, to become an artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. (Reuters/Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau) # The former U.S. Air Force missile-tracking ship Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg slowly disappears beneath the surface of the ocean after cutting charges were detonated seven miles off Key West, Florida May 27, 2009. (Reuters/Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau) # In this image made from video released by the Florida Keys News Bureau, a remote onboard camera records the former U.S. Air Force missile-tracking ship Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg sinking after cutting charges were detonated Wednesday, May 27, 2009, seven miles off Key West, Florida. It sank in one minute and 54 seconds. (AP Photo/Florida Keys News Bureau, Steve Panariello and Andy Newman) # Only air bubbles and smoke remains after the former U.S. Air Force missile-tracking ship Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg was sunk Wednesday. May 27, 2009. The ship now rests in 140 feet of water in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. (AP Photo/Florida Keys News Bureau, Andy Newman) # This Friday, May 29, 2009 photo shows divers exploring the superstructure of the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Key West, Florida, during a preview dive for journalists Friday, May 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Florida Keys News Bureau, Haig Jacobs) # An explosion is seen on the boat "Gran Roque" before sending it to the bottom of the Guabina Bay in the waters of the Aragua State, about 110 miles west of Caracas, Venezuela, late September 15, 2003. (Reuters/Howard Yanes) # 25 retired tanks from the Thai military are loaded on a ship at Bangkok port, Thailand, on Friday, July 30, 2010. The tanks will be dumped into the Gulf of Thailand to serve as artificial reefs and as habitat for marine animals. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) # Officials dump a Chinese-made T-69 armored tank into the Gulf of Thailand, near the southern Narathiwat province August 9, 2010. The 25 decommissioned Thai-army tanks will form artificial corals to improve the marine ecosystems and increase fish stock in the area. (Reuters/Surapan Boonthanom) # A worker steam-cleans the interior of a decommissioned "Redbird" subway car Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001, in New York. The retired cars are stripped and cleaned, then loaded on barges for a trip to Delaware, where they will be dumped into the ocean to become artificial reefs at a site 15 miles south of Cape May, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) # As a workman looks on, two New York City subway cars disappear into the Atlantic Ocean after being pushed off a barge 19 miles east of Cape Henlopen, Delaware, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2001. The Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife sank 27 subway cars in 70-90 feet of water to form Artificial Reef Site 11. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea) # HMNZS Wellington, a frigate of the Royal New Zealand Navy, was scuttled off the south coast of Wellington, New Zealand, to become a living artificial reef and diving attraction in 2005. Original here. (Pieter Pieterse / CC BY-ND)# Spectators watch as the Texas Clipper goes under in a controlled sinking near South Padre Island, Texas, Saturday, November 17, 2007, creating a new artificial reef for marine life. (AP Photo/Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept., Earl Nottingham) # The Spiegel Grove begins to roll, June 10, 2002, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Key Largo. The ship sunk upside-down prematurely May 17 and salvage crews worked for three weeks to get ready for June 10 rollover. (Reuters/Andy Newman) # Fish swim near a lion sculpture in the Neptune Memorial Reef Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 3.25 miles off the coast of Key Biscayne, Florida. Creators of the reef hope it will become a memorial for the dead and a diving site. Instead of a burial funeral, people can pay to have their remains placed in one the reef's structures after their death. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) # Stripped down armored personnel carriers are dumped into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday, Oct. 19, 2006, offshore from the Little River Inlet near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The retired APCs are part of the Artificial Reef-Ex Project and were placed on the James Caudle Memorial Reef to attract fish for sport fishing. (AP Photo/The Sun News, Randall Hill) # A tank sunk by the Jordanian government into the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea as an artificial reef for sea life and a tourist attraction for snorkelers and scuba divers. Original here. (Dan Lundberg / CC BY-SA)# Ex-Royal Navy frigate, The Scylla, is sunk amidst explosions March 27, 2004 off Whitsands Bay, Cornwall, England. (Carl De Souza/Getty Images) # A barge carries 40 retired New York City subway cars near Ocean City, Md., Wednesday Nov. 26, 2008. The cars were sunk in an area known as the "Bass Grounds" to form a reef for marine habitat. (AP Photo/Chuck Snyder) # An old New York City subway car is dropped from a barge into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Delaware, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Mike Derer) # A New York city subway car splashes into the ocean about six miles off of Chincoteauge, Virginia, on Thursday, June 26, 2008. Forty-four stainless steel subway cars were dropped in the Blackfish Bank Reef area as part of a Virginia Marine Resources Commission artificial reef program. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Steve Earley) # A figure stands in underwater sculpture installation "The Silent Evolution" by British artist Jason de Caires Taylor, on the sea floor between Cancun and Isla Mujeres on December 11, 2010. | Russia working on electromagnetic radiation gunsPosted on April 5, 2012 by The Extinction Protocol
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April 5, 2012 – MOSCOW - While many believed it to be an April Fool’s Day joke, Vladimir Putin has confirmed Russia has been testing mind-bending psychotronic guns that can effectively turn people into zombies. The futuristic weapons – which attack their victims’ central nervous system – are being developed by scientists and could be used against Russia’s enemies and even its own dissidents by the end of the decade. Mr. Putin has described the guns, which use electromagnetic radiation like that found in microwave ovens, as entirely new instruments for achieving political and strategic goals. Plans to introduce the super-weapons were announced by Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov. While the technology has been around for some time, Mr. Tsyganok said the guns were recently tested for crowd control purposes. “When it was used for dispersing a crowd and it was focused on a man, his body temperature went up immediately as if he was thrown into a hot frying pan,” Mr. Tsyganok said. “Still, we know very little about this weapon and even Special Forces guys can hardly cope with it,” he said. Research into electromagnetic weapons has been carried out in the US and Russia since the ’50s but it appears Putin has stolen a march on the US. Precise details have not been revealed but previous research has shown that low-frequency waves or beams can affect brain cells, alter psychological states and make it possible to transmit suggestions and commands directly into someone’s thoughts. Mr. Putin said the technology is comparable in effect to nuclear weapons but “more acceptable in terms of political and military ideology.” Mr. Serdyukov said the weaponry based on new physics principles – direct-energy weapons, geophysical weapons, wave-energy weapons, genetic weapons and psychotronic weapons – were part of the state arms procurement program for 2011-2020. –
April 5, 2012 – ISRAEL – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Thursday vowed to strike at those who attack Israel and said the Jewish state can never stop fighting terrorism, speaking hours after a Grad rocket fired from the Sinai Peninsula exploded in Eilat. Speaking at a ceremony marking 40 years since the operation to free hostages on hijacked Sabena Flight 571, during which as a young commando he was shot and wounded, Netanyahu said Israel must constantly fight against those who perpetrate and plan terrorism.” Israel must always fight terrorism, he continued, “It will not stop if we do not fight it.”Sinai, he continued, has become a terrorism zone, something he said Israel is “dealing with.” The security fence being built along the southern border will not stop missiles, but a solution for that too will be found, he said. A Grad-type rocket fired from Sinai exploded in a residential neighborhood of Israel’s southernmost city early Thursday morning. Residents reported hearing three explosions, but police sappers only located the remnants of one Grad rocket. Police were continuing to search for other rockets and holding security assessments in Eilat late Thursday morning, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a situational briefing in Tel Aviv Thursday with IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz in light of the rocket attack, which he called “a grave incident.” “We are studying the incident and will strike the people who fired on Eilat and attempted to harm Israeli citizens,’ Barak said, adding, “There will be no compromises.”-
April 5, 2012 – ALASKA – The Alaska Volcano Observatory says a small explosion at Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands may have sent up a small ash cloud. Clouds prevented satellite observation of an ash cloud. The observatory says the explosion at 1:12 p.m. Wednesday was of short duration and similar to small events in December. Those explosions created ash clouds that dissipated quickly and did not affect air traffic. Cleveland Volcano is a 5,675-foot peak on an uninhabited island 940 miles southwest of Anchorage. Scientists detected the explosion on distant infrasound seismic networks. Infrasound refers to frequencies below what can be heard by the human ear. Scientists say that if a larger explosion occurs that sends ash more than 20,000 feet high, the eruption should be detected by seismic, infrasound or lightning networks. –
k City, communicating with friends, seeing maps and information, and snapping pictures. It concludes with him video-chatting with a girlfriend as the sun sets over the city. All of this is seen through the augmented-reality glasses. Project Glass could hypothetically become Project Contact Lens. Mr. Parviz, who is also an associate professor at the University of Washington, specializes in bionanotechnology, which is the fusion of tiny technologies and biology. He most recently built a tiny contact lens that has embedded electronics and can display pixels to a person’s eye. Early reports of the glasses said prototypes could look like a pair of Oakley Thumps — which are clunky and obtrusive sunglasses — but the version Google unveiled Wednesday looks more graceful. There are reportedly dozens of other shapes and variations of the glasses in the works, some of which can sit over a person’s normal eyeglasses. People I have spoken with who have have seen Project Glass said there is a misconception that the glasses will interfere with people’s daily life too much, constantly streaming information to them and distracting from the real world. But these people said the glasses actually free people up from technology. –
April 4, 2012 – SHANGHAI – A 1.2-magnitude earthquake hit Shanghai Monday night just as a brief thunderstorm struck, causing no casualties but raising public concern online because of the coincidental timing. It also happened to occur a day after the local seismological bureau had dismissed any possibility that Shanghai might suffer serious damages should another major tsunami be unleashed by a powerful earthquake off Japan. A prediction by a Japanese government-commissioned panel of another big Japan earthquake had made headlines in local media, with locals fearing the predicted 34-meter-high tsunami waves, caused by a potential 9.0-magnitude earthquake near the Japanese coast, would inundate Shanghai. Just as locals breathed a sigh of relief reading a no-worry clarification from the seismological authority, many were surprised Monday night to feel several seconds of strong building shaking from the local earthquake. The city’s seismological bureau said the 1.2-magnitude quake took place at 11:27pm, with the epicenter in Minhang District at a depth of just 10 kilometers. Given its shallow depth, the slight-magnitude quake was still obvious enough to be felt by many locals, seismological officials said. “Did I just feel an earthquake? Who else felt the same?” read a post, and many like it, sweeping through Weibo.com, a twitter-like social-networking platform, minutes after the quake. Curious netizens discussed the scope of affected areas by reporting where they felt it. Since the quake hit amid a heavy thunderstorm and gales, many tried to comfort others online by suggesting the quake was really just a powerful thunderbolt. Seismological officials said yesterday that quakes of such magnitude occur about five times a year in Shanghai and are caused by routine movements of the Earth’s crust to release stress. Most local buildings are able to resist shaking from earthquakes measuring up to 5.5 magnitude. Given the current trend of only weak earthquakes in the region, chances of Shanghai being hit by magnitude 5 or more powerful quake is rather low, said the seismological bureau. –
April 4, 2012 – WASHIGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tuesday that a nuclear-armed Iran or a conflict over its ambitions would both destabilize the region as she pressed Tehran to make progress in key talks. As Israel voices growing impatience over Iran, Clinton credited US sanctions with inflicting pressure on the Islamic republic but warned of the “very difficult situation that the world faces’ moving forward. “There is no clear path. We know that a nuclear-armed Iran would be incredibly destabilizing to the region and beyond. A conflict arising out of their program would also be very destabilizing,” Clinton said. “There is no way to balance this. You have two very difficult paths here,” Clinton told a dinner in Norfolk, Virginia; on a day trip to visit the only NATO command in the United States. Clinton, who traveled over the weekend to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, voiced concern that a nuclear Iran would trigger an arms race in the region. “We’re going to be looking for a way to try to convey the legitimate fears that people in the region have about what comes next. Because if Iran were ever to get a nuclear weapon, the countries in the region are going to buy their way to one as well,” Clinton said. The United States has been threatening sanctions to press other countries to stop buying Iranian oil, the country’s chief money-maker, as Israel voices fears that the Islamic republic is developing a nuclear bomb. Iranian officials insist that sensitive nuclear work is for peaceful purposes. Iran is expected to resume talks shortly with six powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — in the first such negotiations in more than one year. –
April 4, 2012 – IRAN - The United States would not be safe from retaliation if Iran is attacked by Washington; the Iran newspaper quoted a senior Revolutionary Guards commander on Tuesday as saying. “In the face of any attack, we will have a crushing response. In that case, we will not only act in the boundaries of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, no place in America will be safe from our attacks,” Massoud Jazayeri was quoted as saying by the daily. Iran would not strike any country first, he said. Tehran is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear program. Israel and the United States have threatened military action against Iran unless it abandons activities which the West suspects are intended to develop nuclear weapons. Further talks between Iran and world powers are expected to take place this month in an attempt to reach a compromise. The most recent talks failed in January 2011 after Iran refused to suspend its sensitive uranium enrichment work, as demanded by several U.N. resolutions. Tehran says its nuclear work is peaceful and it has the right to develop its program under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. “America, the Zionists and reactionary Arabs should pay attention that we will seriously confront them wherever the Islamic Republic’s interests are threatened,” Jazayeri said, according to Iran daily. Iranian officials have warned that the Islamic Republic’s response to any military strike would be painful and has said it could close the oil shipping thoroughfare the Strait of Hormuz. –
April 3, 2012 – TOKYO - After a winter of record snow and avalanches — not to mention last year’s record strong quake, mega-tsunami, and series of powerful typhoons — Japan is once again being battered by the elements. This time, it’s wind. A low-pressure system that landed on Japan’s main island of Honshu Tuesday has brought typhoon-force winds and rain, even snow. In anticipation of the worst of the storm, the Japan Meteorological Agency called an unusual emergency press conference Monday and issued a strong wind warning for Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures. As of mid-day Tuesday, 203 flights were already grounded nationwide and the final game in the nationwide high school spring baseball tournament in Osaka had also been postponed. An 82-year-old woman supposedly died in Ishikawa prefecture after the wind toppled her on the street, according to local media reports. The JMA expected the worst to hit just in time for the evening rush home and winds that could reach almost 63 miles per hour across the country. The agency has already recorded wind speeds of 73.6 mph in the city of Uzen, near Nagasaki, as of this morning. While this storm is described as packing a “typhoon-like” punch, it’s not a typhoon. Typhoons are fueled by warm water from the tropics, known as “tropical cyclones.” The high wind hitting Japan this week is caused by differences in air temperatures, not water. The JMA was warning of waves as high as 32 feet along the northern Pacific coast, snow, and avalanches. The extreme conditions will continue as the weather system passes over Japan over the next four days. This is the second windstorm to hit Tokyo in less than a week. Winds in Japan’s capital were as strong as 64 mph over the weekend as a low pressure system hit Japan’s main island of Honshu causing delays on major train lines. –
April 3, 2012 – CANARY ISLANDS - IRIN volcano 24 hour monitoring network of the National Geographic Institute (IGN) recorded two earthquakes of 1.7 and 2.7 magnitudes on the Richter scale this Sunday on the island of El Hierro. The largest of the earthquakes, recorded at 22.03 hours, occurred southwest of the town of El Pinar. This event was located at sea 15 kilometers deep. The second quake also occurred southwest of El Pinar at 20.36 hours, to 13 km depth and epicenter in the sea. Since last March 24, the island of El Hierro has been nine earthquakes, including this Sunday, between 1.5 and 2.7 °. Of these, were substantial enough to be felt by the population. Sunday’s tremors were located west of Frontier and southwest of El Pinar, and were 10 and 29 kilometers deep. –
April 3, 2012 – PITTSBURG, Okla. – A magnitude 4.0 earthquake shook southeast Oklahoma at 2:33 a.m. Tuesday. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was centered in the town of Pittsburg, about 16 miles south-southwest of McAlester and 109 miles east-southeast of Oklahoma City. McAlester police says so far no damage or injuries have been reported. 2NEWS viewers in Tulsa reported feeling the temblor. The USGS says residents in Muskogee, Norman, Broken Arrow, Atoka and Shawnee also reported feeling tremors. On Nov. 5, 2011, a record 5.6 magnitude tremor shook the Sooner state, the strongest quake on record in Oklahoma. The USGS reported that tremors from the quake, centered in Lincoln County, were felt in most of Oklahoma as well as eastern and central Kansas, most of Missouri and Arkansas, north Texas and southeast Nebraska. Aftershocks were felt for weeks. -
April 2, 2012 – FRANCE - A “thud” and even “three booms” were heard in the sky near Bigouden Wednesday night, March 23rd. The phenomenon remains unexplained and apparently was repeated on the night of the 24th from north to south of Finistere. There were reports also in Côtes d’Armor and Morbihan. But where do these sounds come from? “It sounded like a thud of a child stamping his feet on the wall of the neighbor,” one witness said. Testimonials are legions Bigouden. But not only. Combrit Chateauneuf-du-Faou through Briec, Quimper, Plogastel-Saint-Germain, Pont l’Abbé, Tréméoc, Cockles, Plobannalec-Lesconil or Clohars-Fouesnant, many people on Wednesday to 21h, were intrigued by the phenomenon. Some alluded that “their houses were shaken three times.’ We’re talking about “three strong rumblings” that “have rattled houses” and even awakened some. Some people, meanwhile, heard what they described as “muffled explosions” while others are convinced that this was from “an earthquake.” But neither a reported earthquake, nor aerial maneuver by aircraft can explain the mystery. Contacted, the central office Seismological French (BCSF) states that nothing abnormal registered in this area. And for its size, Chateauneuf-du-Faou Clohars-Fouesnant, the blasts and aftershocks felt “like the equivalent of a magnitude 3 earthquake in force.” In 2005, Bigoudens remember, an earthquake on the fault of south Armorican which had a magnitude 3 o
n the Richter scale caused the same feelings. What then of these explosions heard and felt? An air-borne cause? Regional Centre of Western navigation, it is shown have no record this kind of phenomenon. Moreover, some also said they heard a helicopter. Proceeded by “three booms” recalling it sounded like “thunder.” One thinks of an aircraft. When questioned, the communications department of the Brest Maritime Prefecture said that there was no Navy operation in the region and even less involving helicopters. An official from the Joint Staff of the area of defense and security northwest (OGZDS), said there were no operations or “supersonic flights.” Bizarre; especially considering in March of 2003, three earthquakes also hit the Bigouden and that phenomenon also remains unexplained. –
April 2, 2012 – NEW ZEALAND – Canterbury police are lauding a drop in most types of offending in the past year, but sexual violence is on the rise. The number of sexual assault and related offences reported to Canterbury police increased by 16.4 per cent last year, from 318 offences in 2010 to 370 in 2011. Sexual-violence offending also rose nationally, with 3466 offences reported across the country, an increase of 14.9 per cent on the previous year. Canterbury district commander Superintendent Gary Knowles said the increase was “disturbing” and did not match other types of offending, which had all decreased in 2011. Much of the increase could be because more people were reporting this type of crime. “The more people come forward the better,’ he said. Knowles had put staff on the job of analyzing the figures, particularly the “why, where and how” of sexual violence. More police were also being put on frontline duties, which he hoped would help reduce offending. Te Puna Oranga manager Tania Mataki, who works with victims of sexual abuse and their families, said sexual violence appeared to have increased after the Canterbury earthquakes. “We’ve seen a lot of changes in people’s behaviors – a lot more drinking, a lot more drug abuse, access to [pornography on] the internet. Wherever alcohol is involved there are behaviors that will escalate,’ she said. Usually sexual offending was committed by someone known to the victim and many people since the quakes had been forced to share accommodation or resources. Some of the cases were historical, but some related to offences committed after the February 22, 2011, earthquake, when many families left their damaged homes and moved in with others, or had others move in with them, Mataki said. –
April 2, 2012 – NEW ZEALAND – A spectacular, bright meteor that left a long trail in the sky has stunned witnesses in Wellington and Christchurch tonight. The WeatherWatch website has been inundated with reports of the fireball, which witnesses say rushed across the sky at about 6.30 pm. A Nelson resident described it as an “unbelievable”’ green, orange and white ball flying past at “super speed,” leaving behind a massive trail that lasted for nearly 10 minutes before dissipating. A Hanmer Springs resident said they heard “a loud boom”’ about two minutes after it streaked past. “Not sure if hit the ground or sonic boom, perhaps the latter, very exciting! Much more exciting than putting the washing out.” A Wellingtonian said the meteor was “full on magnesium bright and flaming”, while another said it was “almost fluorescent and very intense.” A Cantabrian said the whole family were excited by the meteor, which came low to the horizon with two bright flashes and trails of smoke. “Like an arc welder torch, it seemed very close and low to us, was waiting for the bang it seemed so close and bright, but obviously moving at tremendous speed. I have never seen anything like this!” Police central communications shift inspector Ken Climo said some of his staff had seen the event and described it as “quite spectacular.” The Rescue Coordination Centre described it as a contrail, he said. –
April 2, 2012 – EUROPE – Unemployment in the euro zone reached its highest level in almost 15 years in February, with more than 17 million people out of work, and economists said they expected job office queues to grow even longer later this year. Joblessness in the 17-nation currency zone rose to 10.8 percent – in line with a Reuters poll of economists – and 0.1 points worse than in January, Eurostat said on Monday. Economists are divided over the wisdom of European governments’ drive to bring down fiscal deficits so aggressively as economic troubles hit tax revenues, consumers’ spending power and business confidence which collapsed late last year. February’s unemployment level – last hit in June 1997 – marked the 10th straight monthly rise and contrasts sharply with the United States where the economy has been adding jobs since late last year. “We expect it to go higher, to reach 11 percent by the end of the year,” said Raphael Brun-Aguerre, an economist at JP Morgan in London. “You have public sector job cuts, income going down, weak consumption. The economic growth outlook is negative and is going to worsen unemployment.” Separate data released on Monday showed manufacturing activity in the euro zone shrank for an eighth successive month in March, providing further evidence for Brussels’ forecast that euro zone out
put will shrink 0.3 percent this year. The European Commission, which along with Berlin is a driving force behind the EU’s debt reduction strategy, said joblessness showed countries must enact difficult reforms. Public resistance is rising in Italy to Prime Minister Mario Monti’s labor market reforms, while Spain’s premier, Mariano Rajoy, faced his first general strike last week. “This is why, more than ever, it is important to carry out structural reforms in countries where the growth potential remains low and where we don’t see the creation of new and better jobs,” Amadeu Altafaj, the spokesman for the EU’s top economic official Olli Rehn, told reporters. Despite the economic vista, the European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates at 1 percent at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, as rising oil prices keep inflation above its 2 percent target. “With inflation remaining stubbornly high throughout the euro zone, there is very little hope of a consumer recovery,” said Jennifer McKeown, an economist at Capital Markets. –
April 2, 2012 – FIJI – People in flood-ravaged Fiji have begun returning home after spending several days in evacuation centers. At least four people have died in some of the worst flooding the country has seen in decades. Officials in Fiji say locals are likely to be spared a further heavy downpour, with Cyclone Daphne, which formed on Monday afternoon, expected to pass the island. Tafazul Gani, a correspondent for a Fijian magazine, says many of the island’s residents are struggling to cope. “A lot of people are thinking ‘what do we do next? How do we cope?’ And having two floods in a matter of a couple of days, a lot of people they don’t have basically anything,” he said. Mr Gani is in one of the worst affected areas of Nadi. He says flood damage there is extensive. “Basically, if you look at the town, the town is totally decimated. It actually looks like a warzone,” he said. “There is not a single shop in the town which has not been affected. Some shops actually have nothing left, everything that was in the shop, the counter, the merchandise, everything got washed away.” But floodwaters have now begun to drop and the clean-up has started. Tourist flights into Nadi have resumed but power is still cut off in many areas. Fiji government spokeswoman Sharon Johns says the extent of damage is still being assessed. “It’s quite extensive. In Nadi town, shops in Nadi town, the floodwaters went right through that,’ she said. Over the past few days about 8,000 people sought refuge in evacuation centers. “They’re being well looked after that, rations are getting to them. We’re …organizing water sterilizers for the children especially. So evacuation centres we would expect that to decrease slowly over the coming days.” Tourist flights into Fiji were stopped last night but most airlines have resumed all services. Australia has offered $1 million in aid to Fiji for water sanitation, blankets and other supplies. -
April 2, 2012 – UTAH - New pioneers have quietly begun moving into the area, secretive outsiders who keep to themselves. They too are focused on deciphering cryptic messages that only they have the power to understand. Just off Beef Hollow Road, less than 2km from brethren headquarters, thousands of hard-hatted builders are laying the groundwork for the newcomers’ own temple and archive, a complex so large that it necessitated expanding the town’s boundaries. Once built, it will be more than five times the size of the U.S. Capitol building. Rather than Bibles and worshippers, this temple will be filled with servers, computer intelligence experts and armed guards. These newcomers will be capturing, storing and analyzing vast quantities of words and images hurtling through the world’s telecommunications networks. In the town of Bluffdale, Big Love and Big Brother have become uneasy neighbors. The blandly named Utah Data Center is being built for the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). A project of immense secrecy, it is the final piece in a complex puzzle assembled over the past decade. Its purpose: to intercept, decipher, analyze and store vast amounts of the world’s communications from satellites and underground and undersea cables of international, foreign and domestic networks. The heavily fortified $2 billion (£1.25 billion) centre should be operational in September 2013. Stored in near-bottomless databases will be all forms of communication, including private emails, mobile pho
ne calls and Google searches, as well as personal data trails — travel itineraries, purchases and other digital “pocket litter.” It is the realization of the “total information awareness’ program created by the Bush administration — which was killed by Congress in 2003 after an outcry over its potential for invading privacy. But “this is more than just a data centre,” says one senior intelligence official who until recently was involved with the program. The mammoth Bluffdale centre will have another important and far more secret role. It is also critical, he says, for breaking codes, which is crucial because much of the data that the centre will handle — financial information, business deals, foreign military and diplomatic secrets, legal documents, confidential personal communications — will be heavily encrypted. According to another top official also involved, the NSA made a breakthrough several years ago in cryptanalysis, or breaking complex encryption systems used not only by governments around the world but also average computer users. The upshot, says this official, is that “everybody’s a target; everybody with communication is a target.” –
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