They could expand from the Carolinas to Texas: A group of South American lizards that can grow up to four feet long (1.2 meters) has established a home in the Florida wild after being brought to the United States as pets, and the reptiles could begin a voracious march across the U.S. South, according to a new study. Tegu lizards, which currently live in two large colonies in Florida, could expand into an area from the Carolinas to Central Texas, according to the scientific report published in July on the website for the journal Nature. READ MORE
WEATHER EMERGENCIES
Drought in Europe: The damage is visible from space: Farm fields in Europe that were lush and green a month ago are now patches of dusty barren dirt. In some places, more than half the harvest could be lost as farmers in a dozen or so countries deal with a once-in-a-generation drought and devastating heatwave, NBC News reports. READ MORE
Drought in Iran: Iran’s Caspian Sea regions have always had abundant water resources, but they face a new threat as drought forces residents in the interior of the country to move north. The Alborz Mountains stretching along the Caspian coast are covered in dense woods that meet low coastal lands in northern Iran. Paddies are everywhere, along with tea farms and gardens for many other water-intensive crops that are typically grown in the rainy provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran. But how long will this heaven last? READ MORE
A fire ‘tornado’: As authorities sifted the rubble from the fire that burned more than 1,000 residences in Shasta County, they were startled by what they encountered. A soaring transmission tower was tipped over. Tiles were torn off the roofs of homes. Massive trees were uprooted. Vehicles were moved. In one spot, a fence post was bent around a tree, with the bark on one side sheared off. This wasn’t typical fire damage. This looked like a tornado and was a phenomenon so rare it doesn’t even have a name. Read more HERE and HERE.
And a failing dam: More than 100 residences were evacuated in Lynchburg, Virginia, amid fears that a dam there could fail as water overtopped the dam and barreled across local roads. By midday, water levels had receded but more forecast rain could result in more flooding. If the dam were to completely fail, it would send enough water into the area to reach a depth of 17 feet in seven minutes. READ MORE
CYBER SECURITY.
Information warfare: Foreign adversaries have stepped up the use of information warfare to control populations since 2011, and the operations are one of the new threats in the digital age, according to the NSA director, Army Gen. Paul Nakasone. The Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, which were fueled by social media and the internet, toppled governments in the Middle East and North Africa, and our adversaries paid attention, seeing the free flow of information as an existential that and seeing the value of disinformation. READ MORE.
SUSTAINABILITY
Have you thought about a cricket farm? Now that crickets, and cricket-based foods, are on the shelves of Whole Foods, Publix, and other national grocers, the idea of home cricket production is slowly moving from a novelty idea to reality. Cricket-raising enthusiasts have even produced a fun video game to spread the word—and likely to make you forget about “ick” factor as they preach the virtues of eating insects. READ MORE..
PUBLIC HEALTH
The good news about anti-dengue mosquitos: Dengue virus has effectively been wiped out in Townsville, Australia, following the release of anti-dengue mosquitoes in 2014. The Queensland city has recorded zero cases of locally-transmitted dengue in the four years since the modified mosquitoes were released, compared to 54 cases in the previous four years. READ MORE
FOOD SAFETY
French McD’s identify Listeria in chicken salad: McDonald’s has revealed it detected Listeria in a chicken salad sold in restaurants throughout France. The fast food giant said an internal control found the pathogen in one lot of chicken Caesar salad sold from July 9 to 14. It was removed from sale July 15. READ MORE