Environment
Evacuation request ignored: Guatemala’s Pacaya volcano continued to spew columns of ash thousands of feet (meters) into the air, but residents of hamlets on the volcano’s slopes have largely ignored a recommendation to evacuate, relying instead on folk traditions and their own knowledge of the peak to judge when it’s time to go.
The national disaster relief agency said there were more eruptions Thursday, but with a decrease in their intensity.
Agency spokesman Davíd León said there are at least 21 hamlets around Pacaya that have been asked to evacuate out of precaution. But few have complied, fearing their possessions could be stolen in their absence.
Residents say they are familiar with the habits of the 8,373-foot (2,552 meter) volcano, located just 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Guatemala City.
Tourists also frequently hike up to visit the peak, but those trips have been temporarily cancelled. Pacaya has a clear view of the nearby Volcano of Fire, which erupted in 2018, emitting a fast-moving avalanche of super-heated muck that killed at least 110 people and left about 200 missing. (AP)
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Alert level raised: A small explosion was recorded Thursday at a remote volcano on the Alaska Peninsula, prompting officials to raise the alert level.
Satellite and webcam views indicated lowlevel ash emissions from Mount Veniaminof volcano. The ash plume did not rise above 10,000 feet (3048 meters), the Alaska Volcano Observatory said. Minor ash deposits are visible at the volcano, located 480 miles (772 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
Officials said eruptive activity typically includes minor ash, lava fountaining and lava flows from the small cone in the icefilled summit caldera. Ashfall is usually confined to the summit crater but larger explosions can send ash to nearby communities, as happened in a 2018 eruption.
Veniaminof is one of the most active volcanos in the Aleutians, erupting at least 14 times in the last 200 years.
The stratovolcano located in the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge is usually shrouded in fog and clouds, and the entire volcano is usually only visible once or twice a year, the park service said. (AP)
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Bid to map plastic litter: Cities along the Mississippi River will take part in a global system to determine where plastic pollution comes from and how it ends up in waterways as a first step toward solving
the problem, officials has said.
The project enables “citizen scientists” using a mobile application to log types and locations of litter found along the river, which drains 40% of the continental US and sends huge volumes of plastics into the Gulf of Mexico. Much of it reaches the river through municipal storm drains and tributary streams.
The data will be entered on a virtual map that will provide experts and policymakers with information about plastic waste concentrations in particular areas and their sources.
“Plastic pollution one of premier environmental crises of our time,” said Barbara Hendrie, North America director for the United Nations Environment Program, which is participating in the initiative with Mississippi riverfront cities and other organizations. “It’s literally choking our oceans as well as our landscapes.”
An estimated 8 million tons of plastic flow into the world’s oceans each year. Many fish and other species eat or become entangled in the debris, often causing death or severe injury.
“Mayors can use the data to bring stakeholders together to have conversations about what kinds of interventions make sense for their towns,” said Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineer with the University of Georgia. “And community members can use the data to bring people together to discuss the issue and discuss what kind of actions they want to take.” (AP)