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Biological Dentistry

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How to Find a Biological Dentist that Can Treat You Holistically

August 25 2012

Story at-a-glance

  • About 50 percent of dentists in the US are mercury-free. However, only an estimated 10 percent of those fully understand the health risks associated with dental amalgam. It’s crucial to understand these risks when removing amalgams, or you could risk acute toxicity from the mercury released during the removal process
  • Biological dentists, also known as holistic, or environmental dentists, operate according to the belief system that your teeth are an integral part of your body and hence your overall health, and recognize that your oral and dental health can have a major influence on other disease processes in your body
  • Amalgam is a major source of environmental mercury pollution. Dental offices must be equipped with mercury separators to elimninate further mercury contamination of our environment
  • Resources for finding a qualified biological dentist are included. You’re encouraged to ask questions of your dentist prior to enlisting his services, to make sure the office is truly adhering to holistic dental practices. A dozen questions are offered as a starting point

 

By Dr Mercola

About 50 percent of dentists in the U.S are mercury-free However, only an estimated 10 percent of those fully understand the health risks associated with dental amalgam—half of which is toxic mercury, despite what the misleading term “silver filling” might lead you to believe

It’s crucial to understand these risks when removing and replacing amalgam “silver” fillings, or you could risk acute toxicity from the mercury released during the removal process I can testify to these risks first-hand, as I suffered kidney damage as a result of improper amalgam removal in the mid-90’s by an otherwise qualified and competent dentist Still today, two decades later, I struggle with some kidney challenges

So please, do take this advice seriously

Dr Bill Glaros is a practicing biological dentist based in Houston, Texas He’s a former president of the International Academy of Biological Dentistry and Medicine (IABDM), and he’s also an accredited member of the American Naturopathic Medical Association

He has testified before the FDA about the health risks of dental amalgam, and in this interview, he offers helpful advice on how to find a qualified biological dentist who can safely remove amalgam fillings

What is Biological Dentistry?

Biological dentists, also known as holistic, or environmental dentists, operate according to the belief system that your teeth are an integral part of your body and hence your overall health, and recognize that your oral and dental health can have a major influence on other disease processes in your body Any medical treatment performed takes this fact into account The primary aim of holistic dentistry is to resolve your dental problems while working in harmony with the rest of your body

I recommend using a biological dentist for all your dental needs, but if you’re considering removing dental amalgams, it’s an absolute necessity Most conventional dentists simply do not have the know-how to do it without putting your health at risk in the process For example, some things that need to be done to keep you safe during amalgam removal include:

  • Providing you with an alternative air source and instructing you not to breathe through your mouth
  • Using a cold-water spray to minimize mercury vapors
  • Putting a dental dam in your mouth so you don’t swallow or inhale any toxins
  • Using a high-volume evacuator near the tooth at all times to evacuate the mercury vapor
  • Washing your mouth out immediately after the fillings have been removed (the dentist should also change gloves after the removal)
  • Immediately cleaning your protective wear and face once the fillings are removed
  • Using room air purifiers

Additional or alternative precautions may also be used For example, Dr Glaros uses a saliva ejector beneath the dam along with a mercury vapor sniffer in his practice, as he’s found that the mercury vapors have a tendency to migrate underneath the dam He also stresses the importance of making sure your bladder and bowels are healthy prior to getting the work done

“There are some other issues that can happen before you start the dental part, and that would be nutritional support and making sure that people’s exit routes are open – their bladder and bowels are functioning –because it’s easier to get it out of the mouth than it is to get out of the body Getting it out of the body is the main goal It doesn’t do it by itself easily for some people,” he explains

Interestingly, certain bacteria in your gut, such as Candida, actually tries to demethylate the mercury it comes across Methyl mercury is the more hazardous type of mercury, in terms of toxicity According to Dr Glaros, some people who struggle with Candida may actually owe the troublesome bacteria a debt of gratitude, because the reason they can’t get rid of it is because your body is using it to demethylate the mercury, which decreases or limits the toxicity they’d otherwise be experiencing

Checking Compatibility of Dental Materials—An Important Step in Biological Dentistry

“One of the things that we believe in biological dentistry is it’s important to check for the compatibility of dental materials,” Dr Glaros says “There are different ways to do that I don’t care which way it’s done; I just like that it’s paid attention to That is the way to honor a patient We all have patients that can take anything Then we all have patients for whom everything becomes an issue So testing for compatibility of materials is crucial

[W]e also want to protect the environment Having mercury separators in dental offices is a unique thing, unfortunately But dentists don’t see that as an issue It’s not particularly expensive, you know, 500 bucks maybe to put a separator in your office, so that the mercury fillings you’re grinding out and cleaning out don’t end up in our water supply ”

According to Dr Glaros, an estimated 30 tons of mercury are placed in people’s mouths each year in the US That’s A LOT of mercury! And a lot of it ends up as environmental pollution as a result of dentists who fail to give this issue the attention it deserves

“San Francisco Bay had a big problem with mercury in it They tried to get the dentists to volunteer to put the separators on They didn’t do it, so they mandated it Within four or five years, the problem has cleared up in San Francisco Bay,” Dr Glaros says

Beware of Root Canals

Root canals are particularly troublesome, and a number of diseases can be traced back to individual root canaled teeth Sadly, the vast majority of dentists are oblivious to the serious potential health risks they are exposing their patients to, risks that persist for the rest of their patients’ lives The American Dental Association

for more info and video links, go to:    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/08/25/biological-dentistry.aspx?e_cid=20120825_DNL_artNew_1

Jeff Masters on TS Isaac, TS Kirk, & New Development

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Isaac slamming Gulf Coast with damaging floods, tornadoes
Published: 4:44 PM GMT on August 30, 2012

Slow-moving Tropical Storm Isaac continues to hammer coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida’s Panhandle with tornadoes, torrential rains, high winds, and a damaging storm surge. Over the past 24 hours, destructive tornadoes have touched down in Biloxi and Pascagoula, Mississippi, and one person was killed by a tree falling on a car in Pearl River County, Mississippi. A major flood event is occurring in Slidell, Louisiana, where Isaac’s storm surge filled Bayou Bonfouca and the W-14 Canal, inundating portions of the city with 1 – 5 feet of water. While Isaac is now a weakening minimal-strength tropical storm, it is still a potent rainmaker, and will cause damaging floods all along its path for the next three days. Major river flooding is occurring or is about to occur on a number of rivers in the landfall area. In north central Tangipahoa Parish in southeast Louisiana and southwestern Pike County in southern Mississippi, a mandatory evacuation has been ordered for all low-lying areas and along the Tangipahoa River, due to the potential failure of the Lake Tangipahoa dam. Audubon Park in New Orleans, recorded 19.30″ of rain as of 7 pm Wednesday night, and 18.7″ of rain in a 24-hour period. This is the greatest 24-hour rainfall event at any official New Orleans site, with weather records extending back to 1871, according to wunderground’s weather historian, Christopher C. Burt. A few other rainfall totals from Isaac, through 11 am EDT on Thursday:

15.02″ Marion, MS
10.09″ Hattiesburg, MS
10.15″ Gulfport, MS
9.80″ Slidell, LA
9.74″ Biloxi, MS
8.52″ Mobile, AL
5.57″ Baton Rouge, LA


Figure 1. Isaac’s winds and storm surge overcomes the seawall and floods South Beach Boulevard in Waveland, Miss., Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis). Waveland experienced a storm surge in excess of 5′ for 36 hours.

Isaac’s storm surge winds down
Storm surge levels along the coast of Mississippi and surrounding areas are gradually receding, and the surge has finally fallen below 5′ at Waveland, which experienced a storm surge in excess of 5′ for 36 hours. Isaac’s storm surge levels were characteristic of a Category 2 hurricane, and lasted for an exceptionally long period of time. Waveland, Mississippi experienced a peak surge of 8′ and peak storm tide of 9′ (surge plus the natural high tide), which beat the levels that occurred during Category 2 Hurricane Gustav of 2008 (7′ of storm tide.) The peak 11.06′ storm surge at Shell Beach, which is in Lake Borgne, 30 miles southeast of New Orleans, exceeded the 9.5′ surge recorded there during Gustav. According to an article in nola.com, Isaac pushed a storm surge of 13.6′ into Lake Borgne, on the east side of New Orleans. This is not far from the 15.5′ storm surge Hurricane Katrina brought to the location. It is quite possible that Isaac’s storm surge might have breached levees of the east side of New Orleans, flooding areas inhabited by tens of thousands of people, had the Army Corps of Engineers not completed their $14.5 billion upgrade to the New Orleans flood defenses this year. I estimate that storm surge damage from Isaac will exceed $2 billion. Isaac has likely caused $2.5 billion in insured damage not related to flooding, insurance firm Eqecat estimated yesterday. Here were some of the peak storm surge values that were recorded at NOAA tide gauges during Isaac:

11.1′ Shell Beach, LA
8.0′ Waveland, MS
3.5′ Pensacola, FL
4.6′ Pascagoula, MS
3.8′ Mobile, AL


Figure 2. A TRMM satellite 3-D view of rainfall on Aug. 28 showed a few very powerful thunderstorms near Isaac’s eye were reaching heights of almost 17 km (10.6 miles.) Intense bands of rain around Isaac were occasionally dropping rain at a rate of over 2.75 inches per hour. Image credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce.

Isaac’s storm surge on the Mississippi River
A storm surge estimated at 12′ moved up the Mississippi in Plaquemines Parish near Port Sulphur, LA, near 8:30 pm EDT Tuesday, causing overtopping of the levees and flooding of homes in the mandatory evacuation areas behind the levees. These levees were not part of the $14.5 billion levee upgrade New Orleans got after Hurricane Katrina, and were not rated to Category 3 hurricane strength, like the levees protecting New Orleans are. Since salt water is more dense than fresh water, the surge travelled along the bottom of the river, with the fresh water flow of the river lying on top. The surge continued upriver, and before reaching New Orleans, encountered an underwater barrier in Plaquemines Parish. This barrier was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers beginning on August 15, in order to keep salt water from moving upstream and contaminating drinking water for Plaquemines Parish and New Orleans. Salt water had made it 90 miles upriver to the outskirts of New Orleans, due to the low flow rate of the river (which had dropped 7′ below average in height due to the drought of 2012.) According to a spokesperson for the National Weather Service River Forecast Office, this barrier was probably able to completely block the flow of salt water upriver due to Isaac’s storm surge, and no salt water made it as far as New Orleans. However, the massive intrusion of ocean water into the river channel caused the mighty Mississippi’s fresh water flow to back up for hundreds of miles. Water levels were elevated by 10′ in New Orleans (103 miles upstream from the mouth of the Mississippi), 8′ in Baton Rouge (228 miles upstream), and 1.4′ at Knox Landing, an amazing 314 miles upstream.

Hurricane Kirk in the Central Atlantic
Hurricane Kirk intensified into a 75 mph Category 1 hurricane this morning, becoming the busy 2012 Atlantic hurricane season’s fifth hurricane. With the season’s mid-point of September 10 still almost 2 weeks away, we’ve already had 12 named storms and 5 hurricanes, which is close to what an entire season experiences in an average year (11 named storms and 6 hurricanes.) Kirk should stay well out to sea and not trouble any land areas.


Figure 3. Morning satellite image of Hurricane Kirk.

Tropical Depression Twelve forms in the Central Atlantic
Tropical Depression Twelve has formed in the Central Atlantic, and appears destined to become a hurricane before the week is out. Fortunately, Hurricane Kirk is weakening the ridge of high pressure to the north of TD 12, and the storm is expected to turn to the northwest and miss the Lesser Antilles Islands. In the long term, it remains unclear if TD 12 will follow Kirk and fully recurve out to sea. The latest run of the GFS model predicts TD 12 will recurve out to sea and not threaten any land areas, but the latest run of the ECMWF model predicts that the trough of low pressure pulling Kirk to the norhteast will not be strong enough to recurve TD 12 out to sea. Instead, the ECMWF predicts that a ridge of high pressure will build in early next week, forcing TD 12 more to the northwest, making the storm a potential threat to Bermuda, the Northeast U.S., and Canada.

from:    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html

August 31 — Blue Moon

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Watch Out for the Blue Moon

August 29, 2012:When someone says “Once in a Blue Moon,” you know what they mean:  Rare, seldom, even absurd.

This year it means August 31st.

For the second time this month, the Moon is about to become full.  There was one full Moon on August 1st/2nd, and now a second is coming on August 31st.  According to modern folklore, whenever there are two full Moons in a calendar month, the second one is “blue.”

Cue up the Elvis records! “Blue Moon…. You saw me standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own.” In song and literature, blue moons have long symbolized lost love and melancholy. Elvis set the standard for lunar heartbreak in his 1956 pop hit “Blue Moon.”

Watch Out for the Blue Moon (splash)

A new ScienceCast video explores the facts and myths of Blue Moons. Play it

But will the moody Moon of August 31st actually turn blue?  Probably not.

Most Blue Moons look pale gray and white, indistinguishable from any other Moon you’ve ever seen.  Squeezing a second full Moon into a calendar month doesn’t change the physical properties of the Moon itself, so its color remains the same.

With that caveat in mind, however, be aware that on rare occasions it can happen.

A truly-blue Moon usually requires a volcanic eruption. Back in 1883, for example, people saw blue moons almost every night after the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa exploded with the force of a 100-megaton nuclear bomb. Plumes of ash rose to the very top of Earth’s atmosphere, and the Moon … it turned blue!

Watch Out for the Blue Moon (plume, 200px)

Smoke from volcanoes and forest fires can cause the Moon to turn blue. [Blue Moon Stories]

Krakatoa’s ash was the reason. Some of the plumes were filled with particles 1 micron wide, about the same as the wavelength of red light.  Particles of this special size strongly scatter red light, while allowing blue light to pass through. Krakatoa’s clouds thus acted like a blue filter.

People also saw blue-colored Moons in 1983 after the eruption of the El Chichon volcano in Mexico. And there are reports of blue Moons caused by Mt. St. Helens in 1980 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991.

Certain forest fires can do the same trick.  A famous example is the giant muskeg fire of Sept. 1953 in Alberta, Canada.  Clouds of smoke containing micron-sized oil droplets produced lavender suns and blue Moons all the way from North America to England.

There are plenty of wildfires burning in the hot, dry USA this month.  If any of them produce smoke with an extra dose of micron-sized particles, the full Moon might really turn blue.

On the other hand, maybe it will turn red.  Often, when the moon is hanging low, it looks red for the same reason that sunsets are red.  The atmosphere is full of aerosols much smaller than the ones injected by volcanoes.  Measuring less than a micron in diameter, these aerosols scatter blue light, while leaving the red behind. For this reason, red Blue Moons are far more common than blue Blue Moons.

Sounds absurd? Yes, but that’s what a Blue Moon is all about. Step outside at sunset on August 31st, look east at the moonrise, and see what color presents itself.
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips| Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA

from:    http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/29aug_bluemoon/

Arctic Earthquake

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Mw6.6 earthquake hits Jan Mayen in the Arctic with some damage

Last update: August 30, 2012 at 3:25 pm by By

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : Mw6.6
UTC Time : 13:43:24 UTC on August 30th, 2012
Local time at epicenter : 12:43:24 UTC on August 30th, 2012
Depth (Hypocenter) : 8km
Geo-location(s) : 93km NW away from Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen

There has been reports of some damage and a rockslide, but no injuries among the 44 people living there.

A M5.2 aftershock also hit around 8 mins after the mainshock.

UPDATE:- This is reported to be one of the largest Norwegian earthquakes on record.

In 2008, a M6.2 was reported in Svalbard.

According to NORSAR “The largest earthquakes in historical times in Norway and surrounding offshore areas occurred in the Rana region in 1819, M 5.8, in the Vøring Basin in 1866, M 5.7, in the outer Oslofjord in 1904, M 5.4 and in the Viking Graben in 1927, M 5.3. The last earthquakes above M 5 include an M 5.3 event in the Vøring Basin in 1988, in an area with almost no earlier seismicity, and an M 5.2 event in the northeastern North Sea in 1989.”

The Oslofjord earthquake of 1904 is the best known earthquake causing damage in Norway.

So it looks like another earthquake record has been broken – as will continue to occur as better recording of earthquakes through time continues worldwide leading to better hazard maps in the future.

Further damage is yet to be confirmed as well as a possible tsunami caused by underwater landslide.

 

Beerenberg Volcano – over 2200m above sea level (Wiki Commons) – erupted in 1970 and 1985.

SUMMARY:-

A major earthquake has hit off Jan Mayen Island in Norway in the Arctic Ocean.

The Amazing coastline of Jan Mayen with the Beerenberg Volcano

44 people currently live on the small island of which the main export is gravel and also doubles as a telecommunications base for Norway.

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/08/30/mw6-6-earthquake-hits-jan-mayen-in-the-arctic-with-some-damage/

 

 

El Salvador Earthquake — Effects

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Strong wave destroys turtle eggs following earthquake in El Salvador

Last update: August 30, 2012 at 3:04 pm by By

A strange set of earthquake data occurred following the El Salvador earthquake a few days ago with various agencies giving very different magnitudes for the event.

A tsunami alert was also triggered and then was cancelled.

We have brief reports that have encircled the globe that the following damage occurred due to 3 strong waves after the earthquake:

– A Zoological foundation has said that 3 waves up to 3m high (not 8m as stated in some reports) washed onshore and destroyed around 45000 just hatched turtle eggs. This is around 6% of the total endangered eggs saved in the last 1.5 years. These were all of the Ridley turtle variety which is very much endangered. It also destroyed the hatcheries for turtle protection.

– The tsunami waves washed up on about 150 people collecting the eggs to protect them in special pens

– The waves injured 6 of the people who were all saved.

– No other reports of damage or a felt tsunami have been made. The earthquake was barely felt in El Salvador.

– Over 200 aftershocks have since been registered.

Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle (Wikipedia Commons)

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : Ml6.7 (SNET), Mw7.3 (USGS)
UTC Time : 04:37:20 UTC  on the 27th August, 2012
Local time at epicenter : 22:37:20 on the 26th August, 2012
Depth (Hypocenter) : 51km (SNET), 20.3km (USGS)
Geo-location(s) : 110km from the South coast of El Salvador

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/08/30/strong-wave-destroys-turtle-eggs-following-earthquake-in-el-salvador/

The “Bird-Muda” Triangle

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Pigeons Vanish in ‘Birdmuda Triangle’

Eli MacKinnon, Life’s Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Date: 28 August 2012
A flock of homing pigeons released and tasked with finding their way home.
A flock of homing pigeons released and tasked with finding their way home. Scientists aren’t sure why some of these racing pigeons disappear in what has been dubbed Birdmuda Triangle.
CREDIT: Gail Johnson, Shutterstock

Hundreds of racing pigeons have been disappearing over a sleepy pocket of North East England, earning the region a reputation as the “Birdmuda Triangle.”

On Saturday (Aug. 25), the Telegraph reported, one club of pigeon fanciers released a flock of 230 birds from North Yorkshire. Only 13 birds arrived at their destination in Scotland.

Some of the aggrieved hobbyists — who routinely release trained pigeons tasked with finding their way home from distances of hundreds of miles — are now considering grounding their remaining birds until the mystery is solved.

Pigeons have long baffled scientists with their uncanny navigational abilities. Earlier this year, researchers at Baylor College identified one component of the birds’ internal GPS when they showed that their brains contain a specialized group of cells that measure the strength and direction of the Earth’s magnetic field, serving as a compass.  [9 Weird Animal Facts]

But what special property of a triangular region in North East England — marked off by places called Wetherby, Corsett and Thirsk, and measuring 65 miles (105 km) on its longest side — could be capable of short-circuiting a pigeon’s sense of home?

Some racers have implicated a nearby military intelligence operation, blaming rogue signals from the Royal Air Force’s Menwith Hill satellite station for jamming their birds’ instincts.

“There’s been a fair amount of experimentation on the effect of radio signals on pigeon orientation,” said Charles Walcott, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell University who has been studying pigeons since 1962. “No one has ever seen any substantial effect.”

Others have attributed losses to unusually high levels of solar activity that they say have distorted the Earth’s magnetic field and, by extension, their pigeons’ mental maps. (Though it is merely following its normal cycle, the sun has been increasingly active lately.)

According to Walcott, researchers have shown that disruptions in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by solar flares do in fact jog pigeons’ internal compasses, changing the initial direction the birds choose to set off in when they’re first released. But a nationwide study published in the now-defunct Racing Pigeon Bulletin examined the results of pigeon races alongside variations in the Earth’s magnetic field and concluded that, in the United States at least, there was no correlation.

“But [the Racing Pigeon Bulletin study] doesn’t rule out the idea,” he told Life’s Little Mysteries. “It just says that over a big area there was no obvious effect; it doesn’t mean that there couldn’t be one in a small area.”

Walcott’s pick for the most plausible cause of England’s pigeon losses happens also to be the most likely explanation for the real Bermuda Triangle’s undue reputation as a mystical devourer of ships and men: bad weather.

The Telegraph reports that the section of North East England in question has been experiencing abnormally high rainfall, and some of the racers have proposed that missing pigeons may have been led far afield by their efforts to avoid storms.

“I think that explanation’s quite likely,” said Walcott. “Pigeons really do not like to fly in the rain because their feathers are not equipped for it, so in my experience pigeons will simply put down until the rain has passed.”

As for where last weekend’s 217 unaccounted-for racing birds headed when the sun came back out, Walcott says we may never know. He’s heard of mass disappearances at U.S. races before, and for some of the pigeon fanciers at those events, answers still haven’t surfaced.

“[T]hose pigeons that are lost, many of them find other pigeon lofts and go in. But some just plain disappear and you never see them again, and I don’t think anyone understands what’s going on,” he said.

from:    http://www.livescience.com/22783-birdmuda-triangle.html

Jeff Masters on Current ATlantic Tropical Activity

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Isaac pounding Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida
Published: 4:01 PM GMT on August 29, 2012
Hurricane Isaac continues to lumber slowly northwestwards at 6 mph, as it pounds Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida’s Panhandle with torrential rains, high winds, and a damaging storm surge. The eye was partially over water for most of the 15 hours after Isaac’s official landfall at 7:45 pm EDT Tuesday night, but New Orleans radar shows the eye of the storm is now fully ashore near Houma. The radar echoes show some weakening on the west side of the eyewall, where dry air has infiltrated the storm. Wind shear remains light, and upper level outflow over Isaac is as impressive as we’ve seen so far, with a strong outflow channel to the north, and a respectable one to the south, as well. Infrared and visible satellite loops show a very large, symmetric, and well organized storm, and Isaac is going to be able to stay near Category 1 hurricane strength all day today. This will allow Isaac to drop rainfall amounts of 15 – 20″ in some areas of Louisiana before the storm is over. A few rainfall totals from Isaac through 11 am EDT:

9.26″ New Orleans Lakefront Airport
5.59″ Belle Chasse, LA
5.21″ Mobile, AL
3.65″ Hattiesburg, MS
3.42″ Gulfport, MS
2.81″ Biloxi, MS


Figure 1. Morning radar reflectivity image from New Orleans.

A dangerous storm surge event underway
Isaac is bringing a large and dangerous storm surge to the coast from Central Louisiana to the Panhandle of Florida. Late this morning was high tide along much of the coast, and the highest water levels of Isaac are likely being experienced at many locations. At 11:30 am EDT, here were some of the storm surge values being recorded at NOAA tide gauges:

8.0′ Waveland, MS
8.2′ Shell Beach, LA
2.0′ Pensacola, FL
4.6′ Pascagoula, MS
3.4′ Mobile, AL

The peak 11.06′ storm surge at 1:30 am EDT this morning at Shell Beach, which is in Lake Borgne, 20 miles southeast of New Orleans, exceeded the 9.5′ surge recorded there during Category 2 Hurricane Gustav of 2008. In general, the storm surge heights from Isaac have been more characteristic of a strong Category 2 hurricane, rather than the weak Category 1 hurricane one might suppose Isaac is, based on its top sustained winds of 75 – 80 mph. The Saffir-Simpson Scale for ranking hurricanes is only a crude measure of their potential impacts.

A storm surge estimated at 12′ moved up the Mississippi in Plaquemines Parish near Port Sulphur, LA, near 8:30 pm EDT Tuesday, causing overtopping of the levees and flooding of homes in the mandatory evacuation areas behind the levees. These levees were not part of the $14.5 billion levee upgrade New Orleans got after Hurricane Katrina, and were not rated to Category 3 hurricane strength, like the levees protecting New Orleans are. The surge continued upriver, elevating the water levels 10′ in New Orleans (103 miles upstream from the mouth of the Mississippi), 8′ in Baton Rouge (228 miles upstream), and 1.4′ at Knox Landing, an amazing 314 miles upstream. The river was 7′ low due to the great 2012 U.S. drought, and I suspect the near-record low flow rate of the river allowed the storm surge to propagate so far upstream. The salt water from the storm surge will be slow to leave the river, due to the continued winds of Isaac keeping the surge going, plus the very low flow rates of the river. One benefit of the heavy rains of 10 – 20 inches expected to fall over Louisiana over the next two days will be to increase the flow rate of the Mississippi River, helping flush the salt water out of the river. The low flow rates of the Mississippi had allowed salt water to move upriver to just south of New Orleans over the past few weeks, threatening the drinking water supply of Plaquemines Parish.


Figure 2. Tide gauge data from Waveland, Mississippi. The green line shows the storm surge. The red line is the storm tide, the height of the water above Mean Sea Level (MSL.) The storm tide at Waveland currently (9′) is 2′ higher than that of Category 2 Hurricane Gustav of 2008. Image credit: NOAA Tides and Currents.

Tropical Storm Kirk in the Central Atlantic
Tropical Storm Kirk formed Tuesday night in the Central Atlantic. Kirk’s formation at 03 UTC on August 29 puts 2012 in 4th place for earliest formation date of the season’s 11th storm. Only 2005, 1995, and 1933 had an earlier formation date of the season’s 11th storm. Kirk should stay well out to sea and not trouble any land areas.


Figure 3. Morning satellite image of Tropical Storm Kirk.

Invest 98L in the Eastern Atlantic
A tropical wave (Invest 98L) is about 750 miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, and is moving west to west-northwest at about 15 mph. In their 8 am EDT Tropical Weather Outlook, NHC gave 98L a 50% chance of developing by Friday morning. Several of the models develop 98L into a tropical depression by this weekend, but none of the reliable models foresee that 98L will be a threat to the Lesser Antilles. The storm may be a threat to Bermuda next week, but it is too early to say if it may threaten the U.S.

Jeff Masters

from:    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html

Abraham Hicks on the Grid Filling IN

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“The grid filling-in, isn’t the action. The grid filling-in is preparing for the action. The grid filling-in is the same thing as saying, the current manifestation in progress.”

A conversation about feeling the temptation to fill-in your own grid and being wise enough to know that you can’t.

Here is the link:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liSklJMz_BY&feature=player_embedded#!

“We’re talking about preparing yourself vibrationally — which means you’ve got to get off the specifics and stay general, because as long as you’re talking about specifics, you’re going to activate things that don’t allow things to unfold smoothly… We want the pleasure of the conscious, deliberate gridding to be as significant as the pleasure of packing up and moving to Seattle.”

A few additional points:

– Fear means you’re not feeling ready for what you want.
– You’ve got to go general to create your vibrational point of receiving.

Excerpted from Abraham LIVE — North Los Angeles, CA 7/14/12.

from:    http://spiritlibrary.com/videos/abraham-hicks/abraham-hicks-preparing-for-what-you-want

Latest on TS/Hurricane Isaac

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Isaac approaching hurricane strength
Posted by: Angela Fritz, 9:14 PM GMT on August 27, 2012 +26

Isaac is walking the line of hurricane status this afternoon after a hurricane hunter mission investigated the storm and found winds of 80+ mph with the SFMR instrument, which looks down at the surface from the plane and estimates what wind speeds are. This instrument has a notoriously rough time in doing so when there’s heavy rain, and since the strongest winds were recorded coinciding with the strongest rain, you can imagine that this region of high wind speed could be suspect. The hurricane hunter mission is still in the storm, so I imagine they will issue a special update if needed. Currently the best estimate of wind speed within the storm is 70 mph. Isaac’s pressure has been dropping today as well and is now 981 mb. Isaac is moving northwest at 12 mph–no change since this morning. Satellite loops show that Isaac remains large, though asymmetric, with most of the strong thunderstorm activity on the west and southwest side. Isaac’s southeast side continues to struggle with dry air and wind shear, which could help to moderate Isaac’s intensity as it approaches the coast.

An oil platform in the northern Gulf of Mexico is reporting sustained winds from the north-northeast at 40 mph this afternoon. A buoy west of Tampa, Florida is recording sustained winds around 30 mph, and platforms south of Louisiana are recording winds from 35-40 mph. The widespread heavy rain of yesterday has lightened up in Florida, but a strong line of thunderstorms in one of Isaac’s outer bands is training northward along and offshore of the east coast of Florida, affecting everyone from Miami to Jacksonville.

This afternoon the AP reported that Isaac’s death toll in Haiti jumped to 19, which puts Isaac’s total death count at 21. It appears most of the deaths in Haiti were due to collapsing structures.


Figure 1. Satellite imagery of Tropical Storm Isaac around 3pm EDT on Monday.

Track forecast:
Models seem to be coming into better agreement today on where Isaac will make landfall, closing in on Louisiana and New Orleans as most likely landfall point. The ECMWF, HWRF, and UKMET all suggest New Orleans as the landfall location. The GFS is only slightly west of that. The GFDL is the farthest west, predicting landfall near the Louisiana-Texas border. Landfall timing remains Tuesday night. Beyond landfall, Isaac is expected to move north toward the Midwest through the rest of this week, however, models are showing that the system will likely slow down around landfall time, prolonging impacts like surge and inland flooding.

Intensity forecast:
The closer Isaac gets to landfall without having formed an eye, the better it is for intensity at landfall. Isaac has strengthened only modestly in the past 24 hours, and is still struggling with a less-than-conducive atmospheric environment. The HWRF remains on the high end of the intensity spectrum, suggesting Isaac will be a weak category 2 upon landfall. Other models suggest it will be a strong category 1, but the difference is splitting hairs. The National Hurricane Center’s official forecast is for Isaac to continue strengthening over the next day, reaching category 2 at landfall.


Figure 2. Tide gauge data from St. Petersburg, Florida. The green line shows the storm surge. As Isaac’s counterclockwise winds blew offshore this morning, water levels feel two feet at St. Petersburg. The winds switched to onshore this afternoon as the center of Isaac moved more to the northwest, bringing a storm surge of two feet to the city.

Storm surge observations from Isaac
This morning, as Isaac’s counter-clockwise winds brought offshore winds to the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, ocean waters fell two feet along the coast. This afternoon, winds have shifted to blow onshore, and a two foot storm surge has been observed at Naples, Fort Meyers, and St. Petersburg on the west coast of Florida. Water levels have also begun to rise along the coast of Louisiana, with a storm surge of 1.5 feet already occurring at Shell Beach on the east side of New Orleans in Lake Borgne.

from:    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2209