#Oder river disaster

[marcelinakrzeminska]

Someone polluted second biggest river in Poland, the Oder. At least 10 tonnes of dead fish washed up on shores.

German broadcaster, citing information it obtained unofficially from a lab probing samples of the Oder River water, says that "high levels of mercury" ("hohe Werte von Quecksilber") were found in the samples.

This is grave environmental disaster and our gov only reaction was reporting this two weeks AFTER situation was observed.

I have no words...

[globalcourant]

Satellite data may help further clarify Oder River disaster

Satellite data may help further clarify Oder River disaster

ANKARA  Experts detected unusually high concentrations of algae Monday in the Oder River in western Poland in the wake of an ecological disaster there that killed tons of fish and animals. Brockmann Consult GmbH, a Hamburg-based company that develops software and services for the exploitation of environmental data, has processed satellite data at the river calculating chlorophyll concentrations,…

[persage]

Remember Me- Steve Harrington

Summary: Every morning Steve shows up at the coffee shop you work in and every morning you hope is the one where the cute stranger will finally talk to you. But it never happens and maybe you don't really need it. Yet, while you wait at the tables with a smile, you can't help but wonder why you feel like you've known him all your life.

Words count: 3.8k

Tags: Fluff and Angst. Post-season4 Steve Harrington / Post War/ Mentions of major character death.

Y/n smells like coffee and lemons. A strange mix that Steve still doesn't know whether its good or not. You move around the shop with a circumstantial smile on your face, a tray in your hands and a green apron used as an impassable wall against the rest of the world, your armor.

Yet you can't take your eyes off that customer, who oders American coffee every morning and sit at the table furthest from people. Sometimes he brings a curly-haired boy with him, other times there's a beautiful girl with big blue eyes - perhaps his girlfriend, perhaps a friend - and with them he smiles slightly more. But he is often alone and clarly wants to be.

You're sorry for that. You don't even know why, you have so much else to think about. You moved in the USA just a few years ago, from your  country you ended up in the middle of nowhere, in Indiana, and when you  arrived you discovered that this place is not as safe and boring as you believed. Strange deaths, accidents, earthquakes, natural disasters like it has been cursed and to be honest you have the feeling of having lost a good part of the time spent here. Now, apart from the fact that this place sucks, you should think about having fun, hanging out with boys, trying to make friends like your aunt says, but you don't. You go home at night and think of a sad stranger and you don't want to, you really don't want to but you do. Silly girl.

"What can I get you sir?" you ask, like every day. When he's alone he usually doesn't reply, he mumbles something under his mouth, looks into your eyes and points his finger at his choice. The menu next to the paper napkins is his voice and you like to listen to it.

"I'll bring it to you right away." There are no smiles between you, even if you would like to. Sometimes you've found yourself wanting a simple "thank you" said properly, not half-mouthed or in a whisper. Yet there's kindness even in the way he moves, the way he isolates himself and it's something you can't explain.

When you place the coffee on the table – a breath away from his fingers – he usually just looks at you. His are not eyes to remain indifferent to. It's not the color that makes them  so special, they're big and dark, but it's their depth, the way they seem to be a portal to that boy's soul, the way they peer into you and seem to contain not a shred of malice and seen too much. They look like a child's eyes, actually. They have something pure, sincere, tremendously tender and at the same time they contain the gaze of a veteran and they defeat you. He looks at you and you are chained. But that's okay, you wouldn't have tried to resist anyway.

He looks at you with something that reminds you of sweetness, hints at a half smile - the first - and this alone is enough to burn you inside,  even if it's snowing outside.

The boy doesn't like snow, he's always in a bad mood when it snows. One day you overheard him talking about it with his friend Dustin, Dexter, something like that. 

"Everytime I fear he is coming back"

"He can't, you know it . We made sure it can't happen again"

"Yes, but at what coast?" and his voice had broken in a yearning way, on the last syllable, like a raging river that you thought you would see burst. When you turned to look at him not a single emotion had appeared on his face. You would like to know what happened to him.

Everyday you look away from him when you realize you've spent too much time staring at him and walk away, ignoring the abandoned baconnotes on the table, silent like him. You feel stupid, a high school girl staring at the mysterious lonely boy. It's ironic and you don't know it yet, but there was a time Steve Harrington was the opposite of mysterious and lonely.

This morning it's different and you don't run away. You linger a moment too long on the marks that can be glimpsed from his shirt, scars on his neck that seem to continue under the fabric of his shirt for who knows how long. You've already noticed some small signs, but usually he's very careful to cover them. Today they are redder and more visible. You notice more scars, these never seen before, on his arms and you realize only now that he has cut his hair and when he moves them you notice and old wound on the left side of his face. 

If he wasn't around your age you'd really think he's a war veteran. You wonder what he must have been through and you don't notice his hand extended towards the cup, which meets yours. For the first time, you feel the contact with his skin, a silent echo of an unexpressed desire. You know nothing about him, barely his name. "Steve" You've heard from his friends. You know nothing of his life; still for an instant you dream of being part of it with all the monsters he must have fought to hurt himself like this. You talk with your eyes for as long as you stay close: you with a silent voice full of questions, he with a single answer. And it's always the same.

To each request, he reacts by moving his fingers, running along your palm and thumb, making red-hot marks that only you can see. You feel them, like burns on your skin, as if you are no longer in the cafeteria, surrounded by people, but in a private place, where every gesture, every touch acquires meaning. And there's no need for him to say anything, you know that today he wanted you to see his scars, he wanted to understand how you would react, he wanted you to see him for real. And you do it, you really see him, and you don't get scared. You never could. You don't know why. 

«Y/n please, could you bring me more coffee?»Another guy asks. He is just another is a customer, an ordinary, common one. Not like him. Just a guy who shows up often, asking you for coffee and smiles. And you're willing to give it to him, you're willing to pretend with the others but not with Steve, with him you only smile when you really want to and it's absurd that in his presence this happens more or less always. 

"Sure! " Breaking contact  with Steve seems more tiring than studying for the last exam, more painful than finding out you didn't pass it. You feel yourself blush as you bow your head and flutter your eyelashes, tucking the tray under your arm. Sorry, you say in one last look, ready to leave him. But he grabs your wrist with the delicacy that distinguishes him, making you turn around again. Blush again.

"I'm Steve." I know, you would like to answer however you avoid doing that. It's the first time you can hear his voice right, with words articulated slowly, fearlessly, spoken for you and you alone .

«Y/n.»

Steve runs his thumb along the inside of the wrist before letting you go, in an almost automatic gesture that he seems to regret immediately. A Last, anxious caress, which reveals what his eyes have always hidden.

"I know"

These words are the most exciting thing you've heard in a while. Suddenly you understand why Steve comes in every day, stealing a look and a few minutes of your life. Or so you believe. You feel a shiver running down your back, turning into a burning caress - the one you would like from him - and going up your spine, up to your ears. It's hope. 

You don't know how or why, you feel as if you already know him, as if in another life your skin has touched nothing but his, and you don't even believe in these things. Maybe he feels the same, the same overwhelming nostalgia for something you haven't even experienced. You hope you're right, you hope he comes here every day  just to see you, to search for a contact that happened by chance - by mistake - and to show you his tormented gaze of him, looking for the peace that he has lost in you. 

«I'll bring you some coffee» You say to another customer, looking at him without seeing him.

I have to talk to Steve. I can't let him go. Not like that. You hurry to get the hot container of coffee and reach the customer's table, dedicating a smile and a moment of your life to him. A moment that he could have, or should have, dedicated to someone else.  "Are you on duty again tonight?" You almost don't hear the question, taken as you are from another table, another customer, one different from the others. Your mind is only on Steve. "Yes," you say, glancing at Steve to make sure he's still there. He is. You suddenly feel calmer. "But only until six."

"It's already dark at six" the boy observes. "I could take you home..."

"There's really no need to, thanks." You walk up to the counter to put the container away. You hear the doorbell ring, and feel the brutal urge to turn around. 

Steve's table is now empty.

*

At six o'clock Steve stares at you from the misted window as you untie the ribbon on your apron, take it off and disappear into the back of the shop. He knows you're tired and you just want to go home. He knows it, because it's the first thing you always said to him after the shift, in another life: before Vecna, before the war, before you forgot about him forever. 

You put on your coat, gloves and wool cap, and say goodbye to your colleague. "See you tomorrow." You pull the scarf up on your chin as you open the door.  

After the war with Vecna and the disappearance of the Upside Down, even the climate has changed. The ice covers the streets, leaving just two gray trails to show the asphalt. There are very few cars parked outside the cafeteria, a badly parked red BMW stands out, it's the only one not covered in snow. Steve smiles seeing you, he holds back from calling you, enjoying the image: a colored spot in the whiteness of winter. You puff. It's cold, and you have to walk home, your high boots sinking into the white blanket, the houses still to be rebuilt across the street are the only sign of the drama Hawkins has experienced. An earthquake so strong that it has destroyed everything. You have been hurt, a head injury big enough to steal a piece of your life. A piece so important that you're only retrieving the fragments of your life here, tales of your aunt, your friends, which for some reason never seem to fit right together 

"Hey." A male voice calls you. You keep moving forward. It is not the first time that some stranger tries to approach you .

«Y/n.» You turn around, you see him and suddenly the snow and the cold disappear and the world is a warm and beautiful place. Steve. "Hello, y/n." You take a step towards him and stop, as if you've dared too much. "What are you doing out here?"

 With this wheater. You think you know the answer. And you hope to hear it from him.

"I'm here for you" Would be the sweetest music. But Steve shrugs, makes an embarrassed noise, pulling his jacket around him. You seem to notice a redness on his cheeck, you wonder if it's not just the cold. "What does it mean?" You ask, letting out a smile, tossing your tied hair. Steve's eyes catch yours, in a silent response that seems to be enough for you. For a moment everything is as before for Steve, you are only you and he is only him and in your eyes he finds the girl he fell in love with during a war that you shouldn't have had to fight. 

You arrived like lightning a year ago alongside the only friend you managed to make in the city at that time: Eddie Munson, and you were the first -together with Dustin- to try to prove his innocence, with all that this entailed: including demobats, Upside Down and Vecna. Now you don't remember anything, and maybe a little part of Steve is happy you don't have to carry the trauma with you, but you don't remember the good things either. You don't remember Eddie. When you look at his old posters or find his photos on the newspapers, to you he is just the killer who terrorized the city and you don't mourn his death. But you did it, you did it until you lost your breath, screaming at the top of your throat in the middle of the darkest night. Steve had to drag you from his  body by force, against your punches and kicks. You melted into his embrace, you vented the pain with such force that he feared your bones might break from the powerful sobs that shook you. Steve lulled you into a tormented sleep and watched over you. And then there was Max. The list of fallen soldiers got longer. Murray.Hopper, again. Will.

And Robin, oh, Rob. 

You were the only thing keeping Steve alive after that. When his best friend fell into his arms, Steve wanted to die and for a moment he stood still, ready to let himself be taken by the same cursed monster that stole Robin from him. But you were there and you needed him, he had to keep you alive. He had to think about Dustin.

Then he lost you too. In a different, unexpected way. When Vecna took you, he thought you were going to die, because the music wasn't playing and you were floating in the air and he, he looked away, like a coward, he gave up. He decided he didn't want to see you die, not like that. He regrets it every day. All he did was prepare to grab your lifeless body, imagining that he would be the next one to die. He couldn't live in a world without Robin.

 But in a world without Robin where he didn't even have you, it was torture, hell. The world was shaking again and the earth was cracking  and Steve desperately wanted to die. But you fell into his arms still alive and breathing and Eleven had killed Vecna and all you had were broken bones and a head injury from the pressure exerted by that monster. Steve didn't know it at the time, but you also had a brain injury, something strong enough to erase everything from the last three years. Everyithing about him. Your family, despite being aware of the situation, has decided not to tell you anything, to keep you away from them, from Steve.

 After all if it wasn't for them you wouldn't have been involved. Also Steve promised to protect you and he didn't. He had failed you , as he did with Robin.

Dustin has kept him alive, keeping him company in the months of solitude spent locked up in his house. Nance forced him to eat every day and Erica, Erica remained silent next to him for hours and that was enough at least for a while. Then, at a certain point, Steve saw you from the shop windows, you were working, smiling. 

And it wasn't enough anymore.

The sky is black, the streetlights barely lit up the street, yet you can understand more about Steve right now, looking at his face wrapped in half-light, than you ever guessed during these endless mornings. «Y/n» your colleague opens the door, investing you with warmth and light, so much so that you lower your eyelids.

"Sorry... I saw you out here. I just wanted to let you know that I'll come early tomorrow so you can go home early." You nod as the door closes. When you turn to Steve, you find him closer than when you last looked at him. You see his breath condense between you and join yours. Heat mingling with heat, and desire meeting desire. Steve nods at the BMW.

"I... I didn't mean to scare you, I just... I can take you home if you want." 

There is a fire inside you, even if you can't explain why. You should be scared of an unknown guy who comes to your workplace every morning and now silently approaches you to offer you a ride home on a dark winter afternoon, but the truth is that Steve makes you feel so many things and fear it's not one of them. You think that this is his car, that the car says so much about people, that you want to see what he keeps inside it, the objects that are important to him. There is probably his scent inside it. 

Steve smells good, clean.You know, you just don't know why.  "That is fine." 

"Steve, can I... Can I ask you a question?" You ask after a few steps in silence. He nods, keeps walking, his arm against yours looking for even the slightest contact. He needs it, or else he'll sink. He needs it to keep himself on his feet when dark comes and in the streets he sees the faces of his dead appear. When your bodies touch, over layers of fabric, you feel your skin melt and you wonder if maybe you're crazy. "Why me?"It's a strange question, you know, you're a little ashamed of it, and you're afraid of scaring him but you feel, somewhere inside you, that maybe he has the answer you were looking for, the missing piece in your story. Or maybe it's just an illusion. He turns around, his gaze softens and he observes you like the answer is the most obvious thing in the world. Because there is no other girl.

 He doesn't say it, he can't. He doesn't want to mess with you, he doesn't want to lose you again and scare you. 

"You know y/n, I've never met a waitress as good as you." 

You laugh, putting a hand over your mouth. "You're an easy guy to get Steve Harrington"

He opens his eyes wide and you don't realize it but is'shere, clear, limpid: Steve has never said his surname. You don't notice, not really. You keep walking beside him. "Thanks," you whisper as you let your arm slide, intertwining it with his. What would it be like to really feel his skin? 

Warm. Rough in the points furrowed by scars, soft in the rest of the body. To Feel the sensation of  naked flesh on your lips, the scent of laundry, the saltiness of his body, the pulse of the vein on his neck, where you place a kiss that isn't there, never was. It's a fantasy that looks a lot like a memory. It scares you. "Let's go." He exhorts you, with shyness and a touch of fear his hand moves to your back and your body is warm under his gaze. His breath is against his cheek, slips under the scarf, up to your neck."Yes" he says, holding his breath. It's cold, but not that much, not now, not for you. Not when you feel Steve's nose against your ear, not when he notices your twitch too. Steve closes his eyes, tries to refrain from telling you everything, from holding you tightly to him, it's so difficult now that he has you close again to resist, to keep a distance that hurts and he doesn't want. "Are you cold?" Steve asks  in a low voice, but for you this question is so much like the caress you've been craving since you became aware of his presence in the shop, since you met his gaze."Not at all'."

You feel Steve's smile on your cheek and you feel like you're. You just turn your head, just to give him the opportunity to reach your lips, but Steve doesn't kiss you, he's still with his eyes closed and who knows what he thinks of you, looking for a kiss from someone you don't even know

."You smell like coffee." The words are an incandescent breath on the mouth. His breath join yours,  you can feel the the taste of him – mint and aftershave – before you even smell it, like you've never tasted anything else in your life. 

"You don't like it?" Thrill after thrill, waiting to discover something about him that you don't know yet. Everything, you have to find out everything, but it seems to you that you have known him for a lifetime."I love coffee" You know he is lying. You just know. But you don't care. Just one question goes through your head and in order not to give it a voice you decide to shut your mouth in the best possible way at the moment. You shiver a little when your lips are close to him. You trace his cheek slowly with your lips, waiting for the moment when he pulls back and tells you you're crazy. You look for the right way to kiss him. 

"I don't usually do that. You must have something very special" You whisper against him. And Steve can't take it anymore, like a dam that breaks its banks, he pushes you completely against him, as if you were one. And then, finally, he finds his way. When he kisses you – slowly at first, giving your lips time to get to know each other; then devouring your every thought, as if nothing else exist but you – you find yourself repeating to yourself that you don't want to kiss anyone anymore. Touch no one anymore. Let anyone kiss and touch you except from Steve. 

"Steve" You murmur breathlessly, pulling away from him. "Would you think I'm crazy if I tell you something?"He shakes his head, his lips swollen and beautifully red. "Never"

"I knew you before, didn't I?" Now Steve Harrington no longer has the strength to lie.Steve Harrington has come to get his girl back and far off in the dark of night he swears he can see Robin Buckley smiling at him for it.

[itsyveinthesky]

Don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious

In case you are wondring why I never posted any updates on the Oder/Odra disaster it’s because we have no conclusive results.

There was to be joint German Polish investigation but Poland doesn’t want to investigate together. Any questions on their findings is basically “trust me bro” territory.

We still don’t now what killed an entire ecosystem.

In the German-Polish dispute over the environmental disaster that led to the death of millions of fish in the Oder River, the fronts are hardening. The Polish government blocked the work of the bi-national expert commission that was supposed to investigate the cause of the catastrophe.

The Polish side neither shared comprehensive data nor showed any cooperation, criticises Lilian Busse, head of the investigation commission. "In the beginning, we actually exchanged information quite well in the German-Polish group. As things progressed, however, the Polish colleagues became more and more reticent, in some cases almost secretive," says Busse.

From time to time some PiS politicians still claim that Germany poisened the Oder though. Even though Germany is still downstream and hasn’t magically moved upstream. Also Germany bad for bringing up the topic of the dead fish simply to make Poland look bad.

I am so tired of PiS and everyone who votes for them.

[wilsweb-asientour]

Tag 40. 12.08.2023

Nokdujeon, Gimbap und Fishcakes. Heute war ein ereignisvoller Tag angesagt. Nachdem wir Brot beim Bäcker holten und einen Kaffee tranken schlenderten wir durch die Einkaufsstraßen in Myeongdong. Wir gingen in die Nike-Läden und liefen ins Apple Store, wo wir uns den Angestellten austauschten. Daraufhin ging’s zum Deoksugang Palast, wo wir die verschiedenen kaiserlichen Häuser beäugten und die gepflegten Gärten bewunderten. Draußen warteten wir vergeblich auf den Wechsel der Garde, anscheinend fand die tägliche Zeremonie heute später statt.

Anschließend liefen wir entlang der Sejong-daero-Straße Richtung Gyeongbokgung Palast. Auf dem Weg fanden im niesenden Regen etliche Demonstrationen statt, irgendwie alle mit dem Koreakrieg oder Japan verbunden. Auch hielten wir an einem Denkmal des 2022 Itaewon Disasters, wo 153 Menschen bei einer Panikmache in einem engen Seouler Gässchen ihr Leben verloren. Frustrierend.

Daraufhin entdeckten wir das Bukchon Hanok Viertel, wo niedliche Gaststätten und Tante Emma Läden sich auf einem Hang abwechselten. Hier aßen wir in einem Imbiss Frittiertes, scharfe Reisrollen und Fishcake-Spieße. Wir schlenderten dann entlang der Seosulla-Gil (neben des Jongmyo-Schreins), wo sich Studenten in etlichen Cafés auffanden und an einem regnerischen Samstag trafen, Richtung Gwangjang Markt angesagt. Hier probierten wir Gimbap (koreanisches Sushi), Nokdujeon (bohnenbasierte Pfannkuchen) und koreanisches Tartar aus. Köstlich. Der Markt war vollgepackt, v.a. mit Scouts (Pfadfinder) verschiedener Länder, die sich auf einem internationalen Scout-Gipfel in Seoul befanden. Irgendwas lief vorherige Woche mit der Organisation schief, viele Scouts sind also schon wieder nach Hause geflogen, viele sind noch da, alles sehr merkwürdig. Der Gwangjang Markt war trotzdem bereichernd und Schauspiel einer unerwartet leckeren Mahlzeit.

Wir liefen schließlich neben dem tiefgelegten Flusspfad Richtung Hotel. In Myeongdong schauten wir allerdings noch in ein paar Geschäfte rein bevor wir im 7-11 Snacks und Frühstück holten. Morgen gehts nach Bundang und auf den Han-Fluss! Bis dann!

Day 40. August 12, 2023

Nokdujeon, Gimbap, and Fishcakes. Today was expected to be an eventful day. After getting bread from the bakery and having a coffee, we strolled through the shopping streets in Myeongdong. We went into the Nike stores and walked into the Apple Store, where we interacted with the employees. After that, we headed to Deoksugung Palace, where we observed the different imperial houses and admired the well-maintained gardens. Outside, we waited in vain for the changing of the guard; apparently, the daily ceremony was scheduled for later today.

Subsequently, we walked along Sejong-daero Street towards Gyeongbokgung Palace. Along the way, numerous demonstrations took place in the drizzling rain, all somehow connected to the Korean War or Japan. We also stopped at a memorial for the 2022 Itaewon Disaster, where 153 people lost their lives during a panic in a narrow Seoul alley. Frustrating.

Then, we discovered the Bukchon Hanok Village, where charming eateries and small convenience stores alternated on a slope. Here, at a snack stand, we had fried food, spicy rice rolls, and fishcake skewers. We then strolled along Seosulla-Gil (next to Jongmyo Shrine), where students gathered in various cafes on a rainy Saturday, heading towards Gwangjang Market. Here, we tried Gimbap (Korean sushi), Nokdujeon (bean-based pancakes), and Korean tartar. Delicious. The market was packed, especially with scouts from different countries who were attending an international scout jamboree in Seoul. Something went wrong with the organization last week, so many scouts have already flown back home, and many are still there – quite strange. Nevertheless, Gwangjang Market was enriching and a stage for an unexpectedly delicious meal.

Finally, we walked along the low-lying river path towards the hotel. In Myeongdong, we stopped by a few shops before getting snacks and breakfast at 7-11. Tomorrow, we're off to Bundang and the Han River! Until then!

[science-for-the-masses]

Thousands of Fish Dead After Toxic Spill in Oder River

It is thought that a toxic substance is responsible for the deaths of thousands of fish in the Polish-German Oder river after they began appearing over hundreds of kilometres last month.

The Oder river (which runs through Germany and Poland, seen below) is considered to be a clean river, and contains 40 domestic species of fish, and several species of beavers, birds, and ducks. However, recent tests have revealed an increased level of oxygen in the water, suggesting the presence of a foreign substance, leading to the deaths of the fish, which were first reported as early as the 28th of July. There is some indication that the water is contaminated with mercury, meaning it also poses threat to human health, however, there is still no definite confirmation of the substance and it's origin.

Authorities in both Germany and Poland have been accused of failing to control the environmental disaster by activists, leading to Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki firing a pair of environmental officers over their handling of the incident.

The river could take years to recover from this incident, even with the intervention of humans. It's imperative that the cause is found now so that the appropriate action can be taken, and prevent any further environmental damage.

Source: BBC News, written by James Fitzgerald

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 1.12 (before 1970)

475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned since his election in June 1523. 1554 – Bayinnaung, who would go on to assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, is crowned King of Burma. 1616 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco. 1792 – Federalist Thomas Pinckney appointed first U.S. minister to Britain. 1808 – John Rennie's scheme to defend St Mary's Church, Reculver, founded in 669, from coastal erosion is abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture. 1808 – The organizational meeting leading to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh. 1848 – The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. 1866 – The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London. 1872 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years. 1895 – The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom. 1911 – The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees. 1915 – The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote. 1916 – Both Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft, receive the German Empire's highest military award, the Pour le Mérite as the first German aviators to earn it. 1918 – The Minnie Pit Disaster coal mining accident occurs in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys die. 1932 – Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate. 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board. 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive. 1955 – A Martin 2-0-2 and Douglas DC-3 collide over Boone County, Kentucky, killing 15 people. 1962 – Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place. 1964 – Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic. 1966 – Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended. 1967 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation. 1969 – The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

[newswireml]

Huge ecological disaster in river Oder last year could repeat in 2023#Huge #ecological #disaster #river #Oder #year #repeat

By Madeleine Cuff Dead fish in the river Oder near Schwedt, Germany, in August 2022 dpa picture alliance/Alamy An algal bloom that killed hundreds of thousands of fish in the river Oder between Germany and Poland in 2022 could reappear this summer with devastating consequences, scientists have warned. About 360 tonnes of dead fish were hauled from the Oder, which runs for 840 kilometres along…

[reportwire]

Toxic algae blamed for 300 tons of dead fish in Oder River on German-Polish border:

Toxic algae blamed for 300 tons of dead fish in Oder River on German-Polish border:

Germany said Friday that mass fish deaths in the Oder River were a “man-made environmental disaster,” blaming toxic algae growth sparked by the introduction of salt into the waters. Presenting a report into the disaster that saw at least 300 tons of dead fish pulled from the river in Germany and Poland this summer, the German environment ministry said the most likely cause was “a sudden increase…

[emoxnews]

Toxic algae responsible for 300 tons of dead fish in the Oder on the German-Polish border: "A man-made environmental disaster"

Toxic algae responsible for 300 tons of dead fish in the Oder on the German-Polish border: “A man-made environmental disaster”

That’s what Germany said on Friday Mass fish kills in the Oder were a “man-made environmental disaster” resulting from toxic algae growth triggered by the introduction of salt into the waters. Presenting a report on the disaster, which saw at least 300 tons of dead fish pulled from the river in Germany and Poland this summer, Germany’s Environment Ministry said the most likely cause was “a sudden…

[globalcourant]

Satellite data may help further clarify Oder River disaster

Satellite data may help further clarify Oder River disaster

ANKARA  Experts detected unusually high concentrations of algae Monday in the Oder River in western Poland in the wake of an ecological disaster there that killed tons of fish and animals. Brockmann Consult GmbH, a Hamburg-based company that develops software and services for the exploitation of environmental data, has processed satellite data at the river calculating chlorophyll concentrations,…

[thepostedia]

Germany and Poland have discovered toxic algae in the water of the Oder

Germany and Poland have discovered toxic algae in the water of the Oder

Toxic algae have been discovered in the Oder, where massive fish kills have raised fears of an impending ecological disaster, Poland and Germany announced on Monday. Since July, more than 100 tons of dead fish have been collected from the river that crosses the two countries and along its banks. Berlin blamed Warsaw for not informing the incident in time and for not acting quickly enough. “The…

[itsyveinthesky]

Some up to date info on the Oder/Odra disaster:

Brandenburg's Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens) has named large amounts of dissolved salts as one of the causes for the dead fish in the Oder. New laboratory results from Friday showed increased salt loads in the river, he explained on Friday evening on rbb24 Brandenburg aktuell. This was "absolutely atypical". It could be concluded that this was the cause of the death of the many fish. These results are not yet conclusive, however, and further results are expected.

Whether mercury levels could also be elevated, as initial investigations have shown, will be further investigated. Vogel emphasised that mercury as a fish poison has a long-term effect. According to current knowledge, however, mercury had not been introduced into the Odra river in such quantities that it could have caused fish mortality.

Officially, the Environment Minister still has no information from Poland that chemical waste has been dumped into the river. Vogel is in contact with the Polish Ministry of the Environment and the Marshal of the Lubuskie Region. "All Polish authorities clearly indicate that they themselves know too little, that they rely on information from us," said the Green politician.

He said that there were indications that substances had entered the Oder near Opole, near Wrocław in southern Poland, at the end of July. However, no statement could be made about which substances exactly. Moreover, there is no information on the extent to which these substances have accumulated in the fish.

Meanwhile, the city of Frankfurt (Oder) has banned bathing, cattle watering and fishing, among other things, with immediate effect by general decree for an indefinite period of time.

According to the order, the wave of organic substances reached Frankfurt (Oder) on 8 August. The effects on the ecosystem indicate synthetic chemical substances, very probably also with toxic effects for vertebrates, it said. It can be assumed that contact with water from this body of water is dangerous for humans and animals.

According to Vogel, the consequences of the fish kill will be felt for years to come. "For the Oder as an ecologically valuable body of water, this is a blow from which it will probably not recover for several years," he said during a visit to Schwedt (Uckermark district). The fish stocks would first have to be slowly rebuilt.

"If the zooplankton, i.e. the small creatures in the Oder, are also damaged - and this can be assumed - it will take a long time before food for the fish can even be found in sufficient quantities in the Oder again."

Vogel, on the other hand, does not see a serious threat to the Baltic Sea from toxic substances that could reach it via the river: "I would first assume that whatever is in the Oder at the moment will be diluted to such an extent that it will no longer cause any damage in the Baltic Sea.

[insideusnet]

Fear for Future After Mass Die-Off of Fish in Poland's Oder River : Inside US

Fear for Future After Mass Die-Off of Fish in Poland’s Oder River : Inside US

By Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska and Kuba Stezycki WIDUCHOWA, Poland (Reuters) – As thousands of dead fish neared the banks of the Oder River in the village of Widuchowa in western Poland on Aug. 11, local people realised an ecological disaster that started in late July in the country’s south-west was heading towards the Baltic Sea. As Widuchowa’s residents searched for tools to remove the…

[rivaltimes]

The ecological disaster in the Oder river leaves more than a hundred tons of dead fish in Poland and Germany

The ecological disaster in the Oder river leaves more than a hundred tons of dead fish in Poland and Germany

Dead fish in the Oder River as it passes through Schwedt, Germany -Patrick Pleul/dpa The authorities estimate that the ecological disaster in the Oder River, whose origin is still being investigated in Poland, has caused the death of more than a hundred tons of fish in this country and in neighboring Germany. Polish firefighters estimate that almost a hundred tons have been removed from the Oder…

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 1.12

475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned since his election in June 1523. 1554 – Bayinnaung, who would go on to assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, is crowned King of Burma. 1616 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco. 1792 – Federalist Thomas Pinckney appointed first U.S. minister to Britain. 1808 – John Rennie's scheme to defend St Mary's Church, Reculver, founded in 669, from coastal erosion is abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture. 1808 – The organizational meeting leading to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh. 1848 – The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. 1866 – The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London. 1872 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years. 1895 – The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom. 1911 – The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees. 1915 – The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote. 1916 – Both Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft, receive the German Empire's highest military award, the Pour le Mérite as the first German aviators to earn it. 1918 – The Minnie Pit Disaster coal mining accident occurs in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys die. 1932 – Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate. 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board. 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive. 1955 – A Martin 2-0-2 and Douglas DC-3 collide over Boone County, Kentucky, killing 15 people. 1962 – Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place. 1964 – Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic. 1966 – Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended. 1967 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation. 1969 – The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history. 1970 – Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian Civil War. 1971 – The Harrisburg Seven: Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other activists are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C. 1976 – The United Nations Security Council votes 11–1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights). 1986 – Space Shuttle program: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61-C as a payload specialist. 1990 – A seven-day pogrom breaks out against the Armenian civilian population of Baku, Azerbaijan, during which Armenians were beaten, tortured, murdered, and expelled from the city. 1991 – Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. 1997 – Space Shuttle program: Atlantis launches from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-81 to the Russian space station Mir, carrying astronaut Jerry M. Linenger for a four-month stay on board the station, replacing astronaut John E. Blaha. 1998 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning. 2001 – Downtown Disney opens to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. 2004 – The world's largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage. 2005 – Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket. 2006 – A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims. 2007 – Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught), one of the brightest comets ever observed is at its zenith visible during the day. 2010 – An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince. 2012 – Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers. 2015 – Government raids kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Kolofata, Cameroon. 2016 – Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. 2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupts, and kills 39 people.