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A series of Earth-shattering volcanic eruptions in Iceland during the Middle Ages may have spurred the people living there to turn away from their pagan gods and convert to Christianity, a new study finds. The discovery came about thanks to precise dating of the volcanic eruptions, which spewed lava about two generations before the Icelandic people changed religions. But why would volcanic eruptions turn people toward monotheism? The answer has to do with the "Voluspa," a prominent medieval poem that predicted a fiery eruption would help lead to the downfall of the pagan gods, the researchers said. Historians have long...

The earth is allegedly in the midst of a 30-year cold spell, as is apparently evident from the early icy spell across many parts of North America, as well as last winter being, “One of the snowiest, coldest, most miserable on record,” according to USA Today. The man who made the claims is climatologist John L. Casey, who is also a former space shuttle engineer and NASA consultant. According to Casey, who just released a new book entitled, Dark Winter: How the Sun Is Causing a 30-Year Cold Spell, a radical shift in global climate is underway, as the Earth...

N. Korea's largest port frozen for 2 straight winters SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's largest port of Nampo has frozen for the second winter in a row due to a severe cold spell, an environmental research institute said Friday. The trade port, the marine gateway of the country's capital Pyongyang, is believed to have been frozen since Jan. 6, according to the Korea Center for Atmospheric Environment Research, citing satellite images. Chung Yong-seung, head of the research institute, said it is rare for the port to freeze two winters in a row, a development he said could have...

Cold temperatures threaten seed potato crop By the Associated Press | Posted: Sunday, October 11, 2009 2:30 pm BOZEMAN - Record-low temperatures in southwestern Idaho are threatening to destroy at least a portion of this season's crop of seed potatoes. Spuds still in the ground could be saved by a layer of snow; a dusting had fallen on Bozeman and the surrounding region by Sunday.

** EXCERPT **The world has seen some extraordinary winter conditions in both hemispheres over the past year: snow in Johannesburg last June and in Baghdad in January, Arctic sea ice returning with a vengeance after a record retreat last summer, paralyzing blizzards in China, and a sharp drop in the globe’s average temperature. It is no wonder that some scientists, opinion writers, political operatives and other people who challenge warnings about dangerous human-caused global warming have jumped on this as a teachable moment. “Earth’s ‘Fever’ Breaks: Global COOLING Currently Under Way,” read a blog post and news release on Wednesday...