Glen Brammell

For many years, miners have known that North Carolina contains emeralds in the ground below it. Recently, a 65 carat emerald was found on a farm. The stone rivals the ones found in the crown jewels of the Russian empress Catherine the Great. The stone is being marketed as the Carolina Emperor.

The stone was found in the community of Hiddenite that has for many years been a producer of the stones. Most of the stones are not gem-quality, but sometimes excellent specimens have been found. Plans to sell the emerald are in the works and its owners hope to make a healthy profit. I say good for them!!

In the aftermath of the giant oil spill disaster, there appears to be some good news. Today, 22 oiled sea turtles were released back into the wild. On the coast of Cedar Key Florida, the turtles were given a second chance to survive. They were captured and cleaned before their return to their natural waters.

While the turtles seem to be doing well, there are still questions as to their long term health. That will be a difficult question to answer as it is nearly impossible to monitor the turtles after their release. All we can do is hope they will be ok.

In the news recently were the giant wildfires that tore through Russia destroying fields and homes. Some in Russia believe that the fires are the result of global warming. This opinion is held by the Russian weather advisor Alexander Bedritsky. He believes that this and other events around the world prove that the world’s weather is heating up.

The recent fires in Russia have caused the government to take a new look at the climate change issue. I hope that Russia as well as the many developing nations will review their policies on greenhouse gases and come to a new agreement to fix the problem.

Our world has been around for many years. Throughout those years our world was shaped by giant ice glaciers that carved out valleys through the mountains. Sometimes, the glaciers meet the sea and become large ice flows that ride the waves. These sheets of ice occasionally break off and become huge ice islands.

This happened recently when a large chunk of ice broke off. The massive sheet of ice takes up about 100 square miles and contains enough fresh water to supply America for 120 days. The ice flow broke from Greenland’s biggest glacier and is expected to reach the Atlantic Ocean in about two years.