Gas in NYC? Dead birds in Austin? WTF?

[The Witch]

Am I nuts for worrying about these two events happening on the same morning?

:sitting in the middle of downtown D.C.:

terra, terra, terra... :tries not to bleat like a sheep:

[ShortnFiery]

1. It's B.S. The Media is not even discreet and they insult our intelligence.

The more they try to whip us up into a frightened state, the more I remember the BS days of duct tape and plastic.

The media knows that the Ruling Elite Morans are desperate to influence us American peasants. Too bad that this time, it's NOT working. :P

[valerief]

7. I wear a Hazmat suit to the office every day. Doesn't everyone now?

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[ShortnFiery]

9. I almost died three times before reaching the age of 8 years old.

I enjoy everyday and remember the true meaning of The Serenity Prayer.

Also, I believe in Heaven. Even if not true (to many), the thought gives me strength. :-) :hi:

[eric513]

2. Sounds scary to me too

I agree that this news is reminiscent of the days of plastic and duct tape, but this does sound a bit weird. The reports range wildly though... I saw some people posting on Digg.com that they can't smell anything and others saying that they can and it is strong. Regardless, if I lived in Manhattan I would be cautious and take off for the day. A friend of mine who worked just down the street from the towers ended up with acute asthma as a result of the dust after never having had asthma in her life... not worth the risk of sticking around if you ask me.

[The Witch]

23. Welcome to DU eric513

:hi:

[helderheid]

3. It bothers me too.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. I don't think there's any connection

Austin's event would not have been such a big deal if it weren't on Congress Ave. That made it a special pain in the ass for people, thus more news worthy.

In the end I have a hunch the birds will be found to have been exposed to toxins, perhaps from contaminated food supply. Pesticide, herbicide and fungicide misuse are often to blame for events such as this.

[hedgehog]

6. I'd be willing to bet someone got tired of dealing with bird droppings

and put out some poison.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

15. That's possible, people do crazy crap like that quite often

And with the recent rains we had it's also possible that it washed some toxins into a puddle where they were concentrated. The birds drank and died. Irresponsible, but not malicious. If it does turn out to be toxins I wonder if we'll ever know for sure how the birds were exposed.

[itsmesgd]

5. It's the end of the world as we know it......

And I feel anxiety!

[ShortnFiery]

8. Oh, please don't fret ...

Many folks here remind me of my middle school aged child. EVERY damn situation seemingly freaks them out! <sky is falling scenario>

Please remember: we are referring to the phony, corporate driven, American M$M, not any reputable news organization like that of the BBC.

Most news that we have the opportunity to glean ... the scandal's truth, is obtained through the UK, Scotland or Australian press. Sad but true. ;)

Fear not, it's a real slow news day. :hi:

[Lex]

10. I'm guessing the birds ate something that poisoned them.

And the gas leak was just something that happens sometimes in big cities. A fluke, a screw-up.

The news media tries to keep us scared to death, don't they?

[ShortnFiery]

12. They crack me up in a humorous way.

I think some of the regulars (Robin, Kyra) think that they are as cute as they feel.

It's comical to hear them cackle among one another.

They profoundly underestimate "the gag factor" within their banter in between <clears throat> Breaking News Stories. It's great entertainment if you know what you're watching. :rofl: ;)

[theHandpuppet]

13. Sounds like the most likely explanation to me.

Was there any mention of the types of birds these were? Starlings, pigeons, what? Unfortunately, the poisoning of what some call "nuisance birds" is fairly common in urban areas.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Page 24 news if it wasn't for the WOT paranoia.

"Some Birds Found Dead in Austin, Texas."

"New Yorkers Complain of Foul Smells."

[ShortnFiery]

14. Don't you dare duck this important issue!?!

These little Corporate M$M quislings are reporting their little chicken-hearts out!

You shall be VERY AFRAID because Homeland Security wants us to buy ducK tape poste haste. :P

Do NOT ruffle our feathers. :P

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. Well, alarming the public sells a lot of beer and shampoo.

Which is what the MSM is interested in.

[madinmaryland]

17. Limbaugh was in NYC today?

:wtf:

[shance]

18. Keep people scared and distracted.

n/t

[jus_the_facts]

19. The environmental "surge" you're not hearing anything about.. Wayne Madsen blog....

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/

January 8, 2007 -- The environmental "surge" you're not hearing anything about.

According to U.S. maritime industry sources, tanker captains are reporting an increase in onboard alarms from hazard sensors designed to detect hydrocarbon gas leaks and, specifically, methane leaks. However, the leaks are not emanating from cargo holds or pump rooms but from continental shelves venting increasing amounts of trapped methane into the atmosphere. With rising ocean temperatures, methane is increasingly escaping from deep ocean floors. Methane is also 21 more times capable of trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

In fact, one of the major sources for increased methane venting is the Hudson Submarine Canyon, which extends into the Atlantic 400 miles from the New York-New Jersey harbor. Another location experiencing increased venting is the Santa Barbara Channel on the California coast.



Fuel tankers reporting increased methane venting from sea beds.

Meanwhile, a strong natural gas odor was reported this morning in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey City, Weehawken, and Newark. Last August, a similar unexplained gas odor sent people to the hospital in Staten Island and Queens. Although methane is odorless, natural methane venting is often accompanied by the venting of acrid hydrogen sulfide, a byproduct of bacterial decomposition.

In other global warming news, the warm temperatures on the U.S. East Coast are resulting in early blooming of the cherry trees and azaleas in Washington, DC and New York City, apple and peach trees in Maryland, and roses, forsythias, and crocuses in Connecticut. A number of people along the East Coast are suffering from allergies usually experienced in April. Monk parakeets from South America have invaded the Chicago area.

George W. Bush continues to insist that global warming is "silly science" based on "fuzzy math." Corporate news media masters are pressuring plastic-faced and neatly-coiffured TV weathermen to treat the current abnormal warm weather as an unexpected "gift" for their viewers. The latte-sipping and SUV-driving yuppies in Washington, DC are certainly taking the current weather abnormality in stride -- they almost appear ecstatic about the weather, obviously unaware that the future of our planet is hanging on a thread.

[Marie26]

20. I know Madsen is wacky

But this sort of makes sense.

Scientists Map 'New Frontier' Deep Within Ocean

Marine Technology Reporter
10/06/1006

Although just 100 miles off the New Jersey-New York coast, the features of the Hudson Canyon have been largely hidden beneath hundreds of feet of water. Created by the Hudson River centuries ago, parts of the massive, undersea region rival the Grand Canyon in scale. Now, for the first time, scientists have a vivid picture of what the mysterious region looks like.

A four-year study using high-tech tools has produced maps of an undersea region the size of Connecticut. Scientists said the maps will allow them to study many things, including whether methane gas trapped in frozen sediment below the sea floor is escaping and exacerbating global warming.

Also of interest is whether gas releases could spark undersea landslides that produce tsunamis. In addition to producing giant waves, landslides could cleave the undersea phone cables that handle much of the nation's overseas communications, said Peter A. Rona, a Rutgers University professor who led the team that produced the maps.

The map "adds significant new detail to the Hudson Canyon subsea landscape," said William Ryan, a senior scholar at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. "The map reveals for the first time all of the tributaries of an extraordinary underwater drainage network that is strikingly similar to terrestrial rivers." Indeed, the undersea canyon acts at times like a river, Ryan said, noting, "Tidal currents sweep up and down the channel. On occasion during big storms cold ocean water is pushed up the Hudson Canyon to spread out on the shelf."

http://www.mtronline.net/mt/mtStories.aspx?ShowStrory=1006022045


Methane clathrate, also called methane hydrate or methane ice, is a form of water ice that contains a large amount of methane within its crystal structure (a clathrate hydrate). Originally thought to occur only in the outer regions of the solar system where temperatures are low and water ice is common, extremely large deposits of methane clathrate have been found under sediments on the ocean floors of Earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_clathrate

Sudden release from methane clathrates

At high pressures, such as are found on the bottom of the ocean, methane forms a solid clathrate with water, known as methane hydrate. An unknown, but possibly very large quantity of methane is trapped in this form in ocean sediments. The sudden release of large volumes of methane from such sediments into the atmosphere has been suggested as a possible cause for rapid global warming events in the Earth's distant past, such as the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum of 55 million years ago.

One source estimates the size of the methane hydrate deposits of the oceans at ten million million tons (10 exagrams). Theories suggest that should global warming cause them to heat up sufficiently, all of this methane could again be suddenly released into the atmosphere. Since methane is twenty-three times stronger (for a given weight, averaged over 100 years) than CO2 as a greenhouse gas; this would immensely magnify the greenhouse effect, heating Earth to unprecedented levels (see Clathrate gun hypothesis).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane#Sources_of_methane

I sure hope this isn't the explanation. Someone please tell me why this can't be the explanation.

[AZBlue]

21. No, you're not nuts. Could be a test of the air currents.

To see how a gas is distributed and carried, how far and how fast. I think it's very scary. I used to live in DC and during the first Iraq quagmire I remember people buying military-grade gas masks to carry with them on the subway - any sign of that going on again?

[pitohui]

22. the dead birds thing is not national news

c'mon, we've all seen this, and it always turns out to be some dickweed who wanted to poison the pigeons w.out the bother of getting a permit

maybe he was even denied a permit, who knows, some cities like a few pigeons around to add to the urban charm and perhaps attract a falcon or two

i've never seen such a story put on national news before, i about fell over when i read the coverage this morning

i could be wrong but i'd be willing to bet money we'll find out i'm right