Image: Three opportunities for global development presented by Big Data

unglobalpulse.org - July 16th, 2013 - Anoush Rima Tatevossian

Thanks to attention in the mainstream media, the phrase “big data” is becoming more well known, and is beginning to be discussed more frequently among development practitioners and decision-makers. A steady stream of papers are being published, panel discussions and conferences being hosted. Even the recent High Level Panel report on the Post-2015 development agenda notes the need for better integrating and using “new sources of data” to be a priority.

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      (CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW - NOAA - Francisco Long Floater - Infrared Channel 4 Imagery Loop)

enenews.com - Energy News - October 19, 2013

Weather Channel, Oct. 18, 2013 at 9:45p ET: Super Typhoon Francisco Brushes Guam, Could Threaten Japan Next Week [...] A tropical cyclone is dubbed a “super typhoon” when maximum sustained winds reach at least 150 mph – the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. [...] Conditions appear favorable for development [... allowing] the typhoon to strengthen in intensity, possibly to 160 mph (Category 5 status) over the next few hours. After that, Francisco will move into a region of cooler ocean temperatures, which cause the typhoon to weaken. Francisco may threaten southern Japan early next week, however the current forecast from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center indicates that the typhoon will be much weaker by that point. That said, intensity forecasts at five days out in time can be highly uncertain [...]

Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato, in the orange helmet, inspects the contaminated water tanks at Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture on Oct. 15, 2013. Photograph: JIJI Press-Pool/AFP via Getty Images

bloomberg.com - by Jacob Adelman - October 17, 2013

The first removal of nuclear fuel rods next month from the stricken Fukushima atomic station should be successful based on findings that the rods -- each about twice the average weight of a sumo wrestler -- appear undamaged from an explosion at the site almost three years ago.

That’s the view of Lake Barrett, a former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission official appointed last month as an adviser to Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501), the operator of the wrecked Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.

(Click on the links below, then click on the Blue button to the right of each heading.)

CLICK HERE - Report of suspected polio cases in the Syrian Arab Republic - 19 October 2013 

CLICK HERE - Cholera in Mexico - 19 October 2013

A Chevron gas station sign is pictured at one of their retain gas stations in Cardiff, California October 9, 2013. 
Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

reuters.com - by Bernard Vaughan - October 14, 2013

(Reuters) - Chevron Corp will try to convince a U.S. judge this week that a group of Ecuadorean villagers and their U.S. lawyer used bribery to win an $18 billion judgment against Chevron from a court in Ecuador, in the latest chapter in a long-running fight over pollution in the Amazon jungle.

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CLICK HERE - Wikipedia - History - Lago Agrio Oil Field

The Crisis Respone Google website has created crowd-sourced maps of volunteers offering shelter in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Clicking on the shelter or red cross gives more details about the shelter and hospital in the area. The maps are also highlighting the intensity of the cyclone at different spots. All the data shown on the map is crowdsourced from publicly visible webpages of news websites, forums, social media, blogs, Wikipedia and government sites.

gdacs.org - October 14, 2013

This earthquake can have a high humanitarian impact based on the Magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

• Earthquake Magnitude 7.1M, Depth:20km
• on 15/10/2013 00:12 UTC
• 5600343 people within 100km

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(ALSO SEE USGS INFORMATION HERE)

Anti-fracking protesters in La Petite Brosse, outside Paris. Photograph: Pierre Andrieu/AFP/Getty Images

A law prohibiting fracking for shale gas has been upheld by France's constitutional court, citing environmental protection

theguardian.com - October 11, 2013

France's constitutional court has upheld a ban on hydraulic fracturing, ruling that the law against the energy exploration technique known as "fracking" is a valid means of protecting the environment.

The court in Paris said on its website on Friday that the 2011 law "conforms to the constitution" and is not "disproportionate".

France banned fracking in 2011 and cancelled exploration licences held by companies including Schuepbach and Total SA, the country's biggest oil company, after protests by environmental groups.

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Video: A video report on the predicted climate shifts.

huffingtonpost.com - October 9th, 2013 - Andrew Freedman

The mean annual climate of the average location on Earth will slip past the most extreme conditions experienced during the past 150 years and into new territory by between 2047 and 2069, depending on the amount of climate-warming greenhouse gases that are emitted during the next few decades, a new study found. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, used a new index to show for the first time when the climate — which has been warming during the past century in response to manmade pollution and natural variability — will be radically different from average conditions during the 1860-2005 period.

The study shows that tropical areas, which contain the richest diversity of species on the planet as well as some of the poorest countries, will be among the first to see the climate exceed historical limits — in as little as a decade from now — which spells trouble for rainforest ecosystems and nations that have a limited capacity to adapt to rapid climate change.

Fishermen have been asked not to venture out to sea in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh

bbc.co.uk - October 11, 2013

India is preparing for a massive cyclone, which is sweeping through the Bay of Bengal towards the east coast.

Cyclone Phailin, categorised as "very severe" by weather forecasters, is expected to hit Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states on Saturday.

The Meteorological Department has predicted the storm will bring winds of 205-215 km/h (127-134 mph) when it makes landfall.

A deadly super-cyclone in 1999 killed more than 10,000 people in Orissa.

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gdacs.org - October 11, 2013

Tropical Cyclone NARI-13 can have a high humanitarian impact based on the Maximum sustained wind speed and the affected population and their vulnerability.

Updated: this report is based on advisory number 11.

• Tropical Cyclone Hurricane/Typhoon > 74 mph (maximum wind speed of 185 km/h)
• from 09/10/2013 12:00 UTC to 11/10/2013 06:00 UTC
• Population affected by Category 1 (120 km/h) wind speeds or higher is 14.3 million
• Vulnerability: High

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gdacs.org - October 10, 2013

Tropical Cyclone PHAILIN-13 can have a high humanitarian impact based on the Maximum sustained wind speed and the affected population and their vulnerability.

Updated: this report is based on advisory number 5.

• Tropical Cyclone Tropical Storm (maximum wind speed of 157 km/h)
• from 09/10/2013 18:00 UTC to 10/10/2013 00:00 UTC
• Population affected by Category 1 (120 km/h) wind speeds or higher is 4million
• Vulnerability: High

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newscientist.com - by Fred Pearce - October 4, 2013

CLICK HERE - State of the Ocean Report 2013

We know the oceans are warming. We know they are acidifying. And now, to cap it all, it turns out they are suffocating, too. A new health check on the state of the oceans warns that they will have lost as much as 7 per cent of their oxygen by the end of the century.

The cascade of chemical and biological changes now under way could see coral reefs irreversibly destroyed in 50 to 100 years, with marine ecosystems increasingly taken over by jellyfish and toxic algal blooms.

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chathamhouse.org - Gemma L. Buckland Merrett, October 2013

DOWNLOAD PAPER HERE (16 page .PDF file)

Operational Biosurveillance - biosurveillance.typepad.com - October 1, 2013

Mexico is reporting upwards of 44 cases of cholera now with one fatality involving Hidalgo State and Mexico City.  The appearance of cholera in Mexico City is deeply concerning from the standpoint of the "tip of the iceberg": we only know of the recognized cases.  There are likely others out there.

A couple of points about this:

1. Totally expected to see expansion of the Nepalese cholera from Haiti to the DR, to Cuba, and now to Mexico. It is likely to include many other countries in that region before all is said and done.

2. It is likely to spread in Mexico in 'fits and starts' due to lack of indigenous immunity and will cause disruption.

3. It will likely spread along trade and migrant labor routes to the US and other countries doing business with Mexico.

4. Communities in the US may be caught unawareness due to basic expectation of border communities in Texas serving as "canaries in a coal mine" for the rest of the country. We propose the migrant labor routes penetrate deep into the US and far from these border communities.