Ernie Fitzpatrick asked:


Supervolcanoes are not your average bear (no pun intended), nor volcano, as Toba proved some 70,000 years ago catapulting us into the last ice age that lasted nearly 60,000 years. The hundreds of small earthquakes at Yellowstone National Park in recent weeks have been an unsettling reminder.

Scientists believe it wouldn’t take much to set this hot spot off.

So, tell me, why has George W. Bush authorized some 10,000+ drilling rights (for oil)? It’s not like letting off a little steam is going to be helpful. In fact, just the opposite is the case. Underneath the park’s famous geysers and majestic scenery lurks one of the world’s biggest volcanoes and we shouldn’t be messing with it.

Explore it only! 

In the ancient past, the Yellowstone has erupted 1,000 times more powerfully than the 1980 blast at Mount St. Helens, hurling ash as far away as Louisiana. No eruption that big has occurred while humans have walked the earth. Supervolcanoes have their own dynamic and if this one goes, well, let’s not go there.

Some observers are nonetheless warning of imminent catastrophe. “To those of us who have been following these events, we know that something is brewing, especially considering that Yellowstone is over 40,000 years overdue for a major eruption,” warned a posting on the online disaster forum Armageddononline.org.

While we need serious attention to what lurks beneath the national park, we need not go ballistic and irrational. One web site contained a page entitled “Yellowstone Warning” that encouraged “…everyone to leave Yellowstone National Park for 100 miles around the volcano caldera because of the danger in poisonous gasses that can escape from the hundreds of recent earthquakes.”

Listen, if Yellowstone activates no one in America is safe, let alone those within 100 miles!

Earthquakes are hardly unusual in Yellowstone. Hundreds occur in the park every year. Earthquake “swarms” like the recent activity also aren’t uncommon, although the 900 or so quakes that began Dec. 26 and significantly tapered off about a week later appear to have been the most energetic swarm in more than 20 years. The most powerful temblor was magnitude 3.9, just short of being able to cause moderate damage.

Scientists knowledgeable about Yellowstone’s geology aren’t publicly speculating about what caused the swarm before they can analyze data and that will take months. “I could come up with 100 different theories without any evidence for them and they would all be equally likely,” said Jake Lowenstern, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based scientist in charge of Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. “Unless you have some reason to say that’s what’s going on, then you’re not going to get a whole lot of people convinced by your speculation.”

Hydrothermal explosions in which underground water encounters a hot spot and blasts through the surface isn’t uncommon. Small hydrothermal explosions producing craters a few feet wide occur in Yellowstone perhaps once or twice a year. But with such a testy environment as we have with Yellowstone, any increased activity from afar; pulsars, and hyper sun spot activity, would be bad news.

So, maybe we can cool out jets until December 21, 2012 or thereabouts. Maybe!

Dr Karen asked:


One must admit that spiders are not the most loved species in the world. It is understandable because they are not considered one of nature’s prettiest contributions. A prime example of this would be the shaggy spider. If one were to visit the tropics you may come across this particular species. You won’t have problems identifying him as it is about 15 cm in diameter. Spiders are normally classified according to whether they are poisonous to people or not.

Shaggy spiders don’t make webs to catch their prey; they just simply lay in wait to attack them. Most big spiders hunt at night time because they don’t like sunlight. They can fall from very long distances such as a high tree and not hurt themselves. Also, a spider bite is inflammatory if their splinters stick you. These tiny little splinters are found under their paws.

We all know that birds can fly right? Well most birds anyway. There is an exception to this fact and that’s the dodo. Unfortunately they are no longer in existence. Scientists know that they did exist because they have found the skeletal remains. The dodos have been dubbed as one of the most famous of all extinct animals. It would seem that this strange bird was fat and clumsy and as we said couldn’t fly. It’s believed that the dodo bird didn’t have any self-preservation, and this was the cause of its extinction. It was a slow moving bird and wasn’t afraid of human beings. It soon became hunted to the point of extinction. The name thus seems to be apt – “Dodo” in Portuguese means “fool”.

If this unique bird spawned some interest in you, you might find the pink pigeon quite intriguing. This bird is found in Mauritius. They have a very interesting voice and enjoy singing their songs at night. These birds have no fear of people, and this could be a worry because if they were not protected they could wind up like the dodo; extinct.

Sea snakes are another species that are not well perceived by the general public. They should be recognized and appreciated for their hunting abilities. These amazing creatures can dive up to 100 meters. Once under the water they can remain there for around 5 hours. Many of them are avid swimmers accomplishing a speed of 1 meter a second. A really impressive swimmer is the sailfish which can swim at a top speed of 109 km per hour. They can actually swim faster than the cheetah can run.

Any discussion about creatures with mobility has to include the squirrel monkeys. These brave inhabitants of our crazy world will actually leap through the air to catch a tasty meal of insects. A leap of 60 meters is not unusual for them.

Curious about other unusual inhabitants and interesting boomer news bytes? Come join Boomer Yearbook and learn more.

www.boomeryearbook.com is a social networking site connecting the Baby Boomer generation. Share your thoughts, rediscover old friends, or expand your mind with brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join today to discover the many ways we are helping Boomers connect for fun and profit.

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