Environment

A major, M5.7 earthquake has struck off the coast of Northern California, just days after a devastating M7.1 quake hit Mexico, resulting in hundreds dead and at least 50 buildings collapsed. The initial quake was quickly followed by a second one coming in at a magnitude of 5.6, which hit closer to shore, the USGS said.

While the quake was luckily too far offshore to cause any damage, the Sacramento Bee writes that after Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in Mexico and the following smaller quakes that shook parts of California, "the West Coast is bracing for the worst."

Residents of Southern California were stunned yesterday morning when their avocado toast breakfast was suddenly interrupted by an ominous "end-of-world prediction" that took over their TV's, interrupting their normal programming for a full minute.  Among other things, the broadcast predicted that "extremely violent times will come."

“Realize this, that in the last day extremely violent times will come."

 

"The term means hard.  Harsh. Hard to deal with.  Vicious. Dangerous. Menacing."

Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com,

In February, AES Energy’s Escondido battery storage facility in California was hailed as the largest one to date, with a capacity of 30 MW/120 MWh. Now, Tesla is building a bigger one—100 MW/129 MWh—in Australia.

On the face of it, it’s a race for the bigger battery storage system. But there’s much more to it than that.

In a decision that could potentially have a profound impact on US trade policy, the US International Trade Commission has ruled that a flood of cheap, foreign solar panels is unfairly hurting US manufacturers, creating the opportunity for President Donald Trump to follow through on his protectionist campaign rhetoric and impose tariffs and import quotas as soon as November.

Don’t panic - it's only an active volcano. What’s the worst that could happen?

Some two dozen earthquakes have shaken Washington State’s Mt. Rainer over the past two weeks – but seismologists say people who live nearby shouldn’t panic.

“In the past, these swarms last a couple of days to a week or so and then die out,” said Paul Bodin, of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington.