Free Republic

Severe snow disasters have left 1.65 million people snowblind and frostbitten, 500,000 livestock and wildlife dead and 3.1 million others on verge of starvation in Tibetan prefectures of northwestern Qinghai Province. Since October last year, consecutive low temperature had gripped the province. The temperature plunged to minus 36.3 degrees centigrade, the record lowest in January in the province, said the provincial meteorological bureau. In Yushu, Guoluo and Huangnan Tibet Autonomous Prefectures, most of the grassland was covered by snow, usually 16 to 32 cm thick, which had brought great losses to local animal husbandry. In the disaster-stricken prefectures, 130,000 people...

A blood thinner can restore affected tissue, research shows, and keep more of a patient's fingers and toes from being amputated. Frostbite patients were able to keep more fingers and toes when their treatment included a drug that dissolves blood clots, according to a study published Monday. Surgeons at the University of Utah health center treated frostbite patients with the clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA. Six patients who received tPA kept 90% of affected fingers and toes, and 12 patients treated before the center began using tPA had 41% of their frostbitten digits amputated. The research appears...

An expedition designed to show how global warming is heating the Arctic had to be called off after one of the explorers got frostbite, thanks to incredibly frigid temperatures that got as low as 100 degrees below zero. Explorers Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen planned to make a 530-mile journey on foot across the Arctic Ocean, but they had to call off the trek after Arnesen suffered frostbite in three of her toes, and extreme cold temperatures drained the batteries in some of their electronic equipment. According to The Associated Press, they had planned to call in regular updates to...

For James Phillips' sake, the Eagles need to win the Super Bowl. Or his sacrifice was all for naught. "They better win the Super Bowl after all I went through," Phillips said tonight from his hospital bed, mopping the sweat from his brow with bandages that are wrapped around both of his hands. He said doctors have told him that they are going to have to cut off the tips of the pinky, ring and middle finger on his left hand due to severe frostbite. Phillips, of Marcus Hook, worked for 30 hours shoveling snow at Lincoln Financial Field the...

Hi! Well, I have a rwd car with summer tires and the fwd car is out of town. The small amount of sleet on the road has trapped me in the house. The weather guy said we'd be cool until noon, but who believes him anyway. Well, I'm a little unprepared (I know, I know) so I need a ghetto way to deice a small patch on my back deck so I can let the dog out without breaking our necks. I'm sure table salt works well, but how much should I use? I don't want to waste it, not...