Oil spill washes ashore on West Vancouver beaches

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The District of West Vancouver is warning the public to stay away from oil-polluted water off several local beaches as oil from the spill in English Bay reached West Vancouver beaches Thursday evening.

Municipal staff began posting signs at beaches Thursday evening including Ambleside and Dundarave as a plume from the oil spill was carried across Burrard Inlet.

"There is oil on some beaches," said Jeff McDonald, spokesman for the District of West Vancouver Thursday night. Beaches where oil has been spotted include Sandy Cove, Stearman and Ambleside.

The fuel, believed to be bunker oil that spilled from an anchored freighter Wednesday evening is considered possibly harmful and could cause irritation to skin and eyes.

West Vancouver staff warned the public not to swim at local beaches, and to avoid contact with the oil, water and wet sand.

Clean up of West Vancouver beaches is expected to begin first thing Friday morning, said McDonald.

Authorities were first alerted to an oil spill from a freighter anchored off English Bay around 5 p.m. Wednesday, when a boater reported seeing an oily sheen on the water, said Julia Ren, a spokeswoman with Port Metro Vancouver.

At the time, We were told (the oil) was light and unrecoverable, said Ren.

Only later in the evening did the authorities realize the oil was thicker and the spill more serious than first thought.

Crews set up a containment boom around the grain ship Mathahassa sometime after 9 p.m. and began emergency cleanup operations.

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Oil spill washes ashore on West Vancouver beaches

Beat the crowds: 5 Virgin Beaches to Visit in the Philippines this Summer

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5 Crowd-less Philippine Beaches to Visit this Summer

This summer, going to the beach sounds like the best idea to beat the heat. But everyone seems to be thinking the same thing, and you end up elbow-to-elbow with the crowd in some of the more popular beaches in the country not conducive to relaxing and beach bumming!

Kalanggaman Islandphoto by Kalanggaman Island FB

Good thing the Department of Tourism suggested some crowd-less beaches to visit in the Philippines this summer. These beaches are as beautiful and serene as the more popular ones like in Boracay and Puerto Galera, but theres a better chance youll find your personal space in these sandy shores. Just make sure you get there first!

How to get there: Take a flight to Butuan City. From the airport, take a four- to five-hour road trip to San Agustin via public bus transport or private vehicle. Drop off point will be the Salvacion Tourism Office, from which you may take a habal-habal motorcycle or a tricycle to Britania.

Britania Islandsphoto by Raissa QD via Flickr

The Tourism Department describes the beach in Britania Islands as one of the countrys best-kept island secrets. Its made up of a cluster of more than 20 islands on Lianga Bay, facing Pacific Ocean. The islands have powdery white sands which DOT says is comparable to Boracays.

How to get there: Board a bus en route to Iba, Zambales. Get off at the San Antonio Municiap Hall, and then take a tricycle to Pundaquit beach. From there, rent a boat going to Nagsasa Cove.

Sunset in Nagsasa Covephoto by Kris Opiana via Flickr

Nagsasa Cove is close enough to Metro Manila to become a road trip destination. The Department of Tourism says its a great destination with powdery white sand and crystal waters. Perfect for a quick weekend getaway!

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Beat the crowds: 5 Virgin Beaches to Visit in the Philippines this Summer

Beaches within a two-hour drive of Greater Manchester

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Here is our guide to the top ten family-friendly beaches within a two-hour drive from Greater Manchester.

We have chosen a mixture of family-friendly beaches, some sandy and some with stone and rock features.

Beach certified EDBW (Euro designated bathing water ) have been clearly marked. This means they are suitable for bathing.

Please make sure you check with individual beaches whether the beaches are manned by lifeguards on the day you are set to visit.

Come rain or shine, Blackpool is always buzzing with families visiting its array of attractions including the Pleasure Beach, Blackpool Tower and Sealife Centre.

But the vast sandy beach, complete with piers and donkey rides are the reason Blackpool is a holiday mecca. The bonus is its only 45 minutes away.

Just a stones throw from Blackpool but this beach is often a little quieter.

There is an ornate Victorian pier in front of extensive tidal sands and a boating lake.

The town itself has plenty of restaurants and B&Bs, its own art gallery and Lytham Hall, a stunning Georgian country house, is open to visitors - prefect for a balmy spring day.

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Beaches within a two-hour drive of Greater Manchester

Anthony Schapel releases findings on Encounter Bay beaches

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April 10, 2015, 6:30 a.m.

VICTOR HARBOR: Deputy state coroner hands down finding of beaches.

Deputy state coroner Anthony Schapel has handed down his findings on an inquest into the drownings of three men in south coast waters. He is pictured at Petrel Cove March 10.

A decision about the future of twoEncounter Bay beaches that have claimed three livesin as many years has been placed in the Victor Harborcouncil's hands.

It follows the findings of a coronial inquest intothe drownings of men at Depledge Beach and PetrelCove.

The inquest, that took place over six days in March- led by state deputy coroner Anthony Schapel -investigated the drowning deaths of David RussellGadd, Kamran Bimal Gujari and Nasir Ali Anwari.

Mr Gadd, 28, of Encounter Bay drowned atDepledge Beach on February 9, 2012.Mr Gujari, 19, from Seaton disappeared fromPetrel Cove Beach on April 25, 2014. His body wasnever found.

Mr Anwari, 18, from Paralowie drowned at PetrelCove on December 24, 2014.

Mr Schapel handed down his findings andrecommendations on April 2.

On the matter of closing the beach Mr Schapel saidit "had troubled the court considerably" and it "isclearly a matter that the council has to consider anddecide for itself".

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Anthony Schapel releases findings on Encounter Bay beaches

Toxic fuel from English Bay spill washes up on Vancouver beaches

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The source, composition and quantity of the toxic fuel that spilled out into the waters of English Bay in Vancouver Wednesday afternoon is still unconfirmed.

In a news conference Thursday afternoon, Roger Girouard, head of the Canadian Coast Guard western region, said that the spill was being treated as either bunker fuel or raw crude in a "worst-case scenario" until test results came back.

Residents were being warned to avoid the beaches on both sides of the bay on one of the sunniest days of the year, and to keep their dogs leashed and away from wet sand as a cleanup operation continues.

Girouard said that two large patches of the spill had been spotted moving towardthe North Shore of the city, and had been collected immediately.No large slicks had touched the shoreline, he said, but there was "sheen material and some black tar balls" on the beach.

Fourteen hundred litres of the spill had so far been collected, he said, with a rough assessment of a total 2,800 litres present in the water.

The spill occurred in Vancouver's picturesque English Bay. (CBC)

That amount was "above the norm" but not "catastrophic."

The source of the spill remains unconfirmed, as crew ofthe grain ship Marathassa, which sat in the middle of the spill, denies they released any material, Girouard said, noting that lawyers are involved.

"We can't definitively say it came from that vessel," he said. "The master says they are not the source of the oil."

Girouardsaid that from an operations perspective, the response had gone "according to doctrine,"but he acknowledged that communications to the City of Vancouverandits residents "could have been better."

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Toxic fuel from English Bay spill washes up on Vancouver beaches

Highlights of the Night Sky – April 2015 | Astronomy Space Science Video – Video

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Highlights of the Night Sky - April 2015 | Astronomy Space Science Video
More space news and info at: http://www.coconutsciencelab.com - what to look for in the night sky during April 2015. Please rate and comment, thanks! Credits: STScI.

By: CoconutScienceLab

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Highlights of the Night Sky - April 2015 | Astronomy Space Science Video - Video

The Next Big Questions in Astronomy – Professor Carolin Crawford – Video

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The Next Big Questions in Astronomy - Professor Carolin Crawford
In her final Gresham Lecture, Professor Crawford talks about where the next big breakthrough will come

By: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-next-big-questions For each exciting...

By: GreshamCollege

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The Next Big Questions in Astronomy - Professor Carolin Crawford - Video

Workshops meld art with Native American astronomy, culture

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ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) - Art, science and culture will combine in Native Skywatchers - Earth Sky Connections, a series of 12 free art workshops and classes led by four artists with Native American heritage.

For me personally, as an astronomer and an artist, I feel that art is to me about this expression that comes from the heart and a lot from our own experience, Annette Lee told the St. Cloud Times (http://on.sctimes.com/1FizRTO ). The science is kind of like the counter-balance to that, where the science is about logical thinking, linear thinking. But it also has some magic and some things that are amazing.

Lee, a painter and an associate professor of astronomy and physics at St. Cloud State University, secured the $25,000 Minnesota State Arts Board grant thats funding the series.

Four workshops will be in St. Cloud, including two open to the public and two at Kennedy Community School. The rest are at the Duluth Art Institute, the Mille Lacs Indian Museum near Onamia and Fond du Lac Ojibwe School in Cloquet.

During her presentation, As it Is Above; It Is Below, Lee will talk about constellations and Native American star knowledge while painters (organizers encourage beginners to attend) create a piece that ties constellations to a season. She plans to bring a solar telescope to augment the hands-on science.

When she teaches astronomy or runs a St. Cloud State Planetarium program, Lee sees excitement and curiosity run through the audience. Through Native Skywatchers - Earth Sky Connections, she aims to spark interest in both art and science.

What I see is that theyre both equally powerful, and in our time, our civilization has really kind of shut down or put aside the art part as maybe an extra or just a hobby or not so important. The technology has sort of reigned the day, and we have all of the high-paying jobs in the sciences - and thats great. But I really feel as human beings that we have both parts to our being, our existence, Lee said.

St. Joseph-based artist Anne Meyer, who incorporates drawing into her clay work, will bring raw materials from her farm to use in her sessions, Be Humble for You Are Made of Earth. Meyer will share the Minnesota geology lessons she learned, which explain where clay is found, how it got there and how it was made.

The knowledge helps put the session in context.

Participants will hand-build a pot using a coil method used not only to make pre-settlement Oneota ceramics but also currently used around the world where pots are hand-built. A wooden paddle wrapped in cords will give the pots texture as it compresses and strengthens the clay.

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Workshops meld art with Native American astronomy, culture

2015 Jansky Lectureship Awarded to Caltech Professor

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Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) have awarded the 2015 Karl G. Jansky Lectureship to Dr. Nick Z. Scoville of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Jansky Lectureship is an honor established by the trustees of AUI to recognize outstanding contributions to the advancement of radio astronomy.Scoville leads the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), a project that uses data from virtually every large space- and ground-based telescope, including the NRAO's Very Large Array, to study the large-scale structure of the Universe and the evolution of galaxies over a vast range of cosmic time. Begun in 2004 with a large allocation of observing time on the Hubble Space Telescope, COSMOS now has detected more than a million galaxies spanning cosmic time back to the first billion years of the Universe. He is currently using the new Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to investigate the evolution of star formation in the early Universe and colliding starburst galaxies nearby.A professor at Caltech since 1983, Scoville received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1972. He was a pioneer in millimeter-wave astronomy and is a leading expert in studies of galaxy evolution, the nature of the dense interstellar molecular gas in galaxies, and in the process of star formation, both in the nearby and in the distant, early Universe. He is a past director of Caltech's Owens Valley Radio Observatory, and has served on numerous national committees. In his spare time, he enjoys doing sculptural welding projects.Author of more than 600 publications in both observational and theoretical astrophysics, Scoville's previous awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Aaronson Award of the University of Arizona, and serving as Bishop Lecturer at Columbia University.As Jansky Lecturer, Scoville will give lectures at NRAO facilities in Charlottesville, Virginia; Green Bank, West Virginia; and Socorro, New Mexico. These lectures are open to the public.This is the fiftieth Jansky Lectureship. First awarded in 1966, it is named in honor of the man who, in 1932, first detected radio waves from a cosmic source. Karl Jansky's discovery of radio waves from the central region of the Milky Way started the science of radio astronomy. Other recipients of the Jansky award include seven Nobel laureates (Drs. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Edward Purcell, Charles Townes, Arno Penzias, Robert Wilson, William Fowler, and Joseph Taylor) as well as Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, discoverer of the first pulsar, and Vera Rubin, discoverer of dark matter in galaxies.The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

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2015 Jansky Lectureship Awarded to Caltech Professor