Science and nature year in review
If this were Trivial Pursuit, the category would be Science and Nature. And you would have to answer a question like, "What was the magnitude of the earthquake that struck Kobe, Japan?" But lucky for you, this isn't a game, and you don't have to know the answer. It, and other tidbits like it of the scientific and/or natural kind from 1995 are right here for you to peruse.
January 14, 1995 - Grey wolves return to the West
After more than 60 years' absence, wolves returned to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho, but not without controversy. Wary ranchers sued to block the animals' release, saying it would endanger their livestock. That fear led to the wolves' expulsion from the area in the 1930's.
However, biologists said the wolves are a key part of the local ecosystem, and are much more likely to prey on wild animals such as elk and bison.
A federal judge dismissed the ranchers' complaints and on January 14, the first wolves were released. A total of 14 eventually were freed in Yellowstone and 15 in Idaho.
January 17, 1995 - Massive earthquake hits Japan
It was at 5:46 the morning when the Nojima Fault, a quiet fault whose two sides had been slipping past each other at the rate of about three feet ever 1,000 years suddenly heaved beneath Awaji Island in the Inland sea of western Japan, setting off a quake measuring 7.2 in magnitude and ultimately killing 5,373 people.
Hardest hit was Kobe, an industrial port city of 1.4 million people 20 miles from the epicenter, located 280 miles west of Tokyo.
The shaking lasted for 20 seconds and when it was over hardly a block was left undamaged. More than 56,000 buildings were destroyed, the tracks of the famous bullet train were mangled, and sections of supposedly earthquake-proof elevated freeway lay on their sides, having crushed cars beneath them.
February 22, 1995 - Louganis reveals he has AIDS
In 1995, champion diver Greg Louganis revealed a secret he had taken with him to the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea: six months before the diving competition, the defending Olympic champion was diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Louganis' revelation raised questions about the risk of infection at the 1988 Olympics. Louganis had hit his head against the springboard during a preliminary dive, causing a two-inch gash in his head that required four stitches. The man who treated Louganis at poolside, Dr. James Puffer, didn't know Louganis had HIV and didn't wear protective gloves.
Louganis defended his gold medals at the Seoul Olympics, winning the platform and springboard competitions again, as he had in 1984 in Los Angeles.
Louganis wrote the 1995 bestseller "Breaking the Surface" about diving, his life as a homosexual, and living with AIDS.
April, 1995 - May, 1995 - Ebola outbreak kills hundreds in Zaire
The lush beauty of the African rain forest became a target- zone for a terrifying killer. In 1995, the Ebola virus struck in the African nation of Zaire, killing 233 people. Ebola, the tiny killer, is named for a river in the area.
The virus causes what's called hemorrhagic fever, fatal in 50 to 90% of cases. Victims bleed to death. There's no vaccine, and no cure. Ebola is spread through blood or other body fluids.
The first outbreak of Ebola was reported in Zaire in the mid- 19-70's. By the mid-90's, the virus had "inspired" the non- fiction best-seller, "Hot Zone," and the fictional box office thriller, "Outbreak."
May 28, 1995 - Earthquake rattles remote Russian town
On May 28, the earth opened up and buried two-thirds of the population of Neftegorsk, Russia. The 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit in the middle of the night, as the small remote oil town slept. More than 2,000 died.
Many of the town's youngsters were at the local discotheque when the quake hit. The ceiling collapsed and only four people survived. Several children were pulled to safety after hours or even days of being buried under the rubble.
Almost immediately after the earthquake struck, people were already laying blame. Most pointed to poorly constructed buildings that collapsed like matchboxes. The five-story Soviet-style prefabricated apartment blocks were built in the 1960's, when Sakhalin Island was not considered an earthquake zone. Of the 19 buildings in Neftegorsk, only three remained standing after the earthquake. The Russian government announced it would not rebuild the town, and ordered the few buildings left standing demolished. Most of the survivors had nowhere to go.
June 1, 1995 - November 30, 1995 - Record hurricane season stirs up Atlantic
From Allison to Tanya the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season was the busiest in decades, brewing up 19 tropical storms and hurricanes. It was second only to a record season in 1933.
For many residents of the united states, the Caribbean islands and Mexico, June 1 to November 30 was a time of fleeing of taking shelter, stocking up, boarding up, and cleaning up.
Hurricane Erin proved to be one of the season's most unpredictable storms with a double whammy hit on Florida in early August. Hurricane Luis was one of the season's deadliest; it slammed into the Caribbean islands in early September, killing at least 14 people. Some 75 percent of the buildings in antigua and barbados were damaged.
Hurricane Opal cut a 120-mile wide path of destruction along Mexico and Florida's beaches in early October. The storm left at least 12 people dead.
June 28, 1995 - Alzheimer's gene discovered
A key discovery in the fight against Alzheimer's disease was announced in June. An international team of researchers working with the University of Toronto said they found a gene responsible for a rare but aggressive form of the degenerative disease. Their research and other findings suggest that a test might be able to reveal who is genetically susceptible to the disease. However, such an Alzheimer's test and a cure have not yet been developed. About four million Americans have Alzheimer's. Their research was published in the journal Nature.
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