Human exposure to glyphosate, a chemical found in weed killers, increased over 23 years – “Our exposure to these chemicals has increased significantly over the years but most people are unaware that they are consuming them through their diet”

By Yadira Galindo 24 October 2017 (UC San Diego) – Analyzing samples from a prospective study, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers found that human exposure to glyphosate, a chemical widely found in weed killers, has increased approximately 500 percent since the introduction of genetically modified crops.“The data compares excretion levels of […]

Record-melting fall heat wave bakes Southern California

By Bob Henson  24 October 2017 (Weather Underground) – It’s not every October 23 or 24 that millions of Americans are swathed in temperatures above 100°F. This week has done just that, bringing some of the toastiest weather ever observed in the United States during late October, and more pre-Halloween heat is on the way. […]

Wildfires scorched marijuana crops, possibly complicating California’s rollout of legal sales

By Katie Zezima 20 October 2017 (The Washington Post) – The deadly wildfires that ravaged communities and wineries in Northern California also severely damaged numerous marijuana farms, just before the state is expected to fully legalize the drug, in a disaster that could have far-reaching implications for a nascent industry.At least 34 marijuana farms suffered […]

In the “Smoke Belt” of the U.S. West, climate change making it harder to breathe – “Over the past two days we’ve experienced unprecedented levels of air pollution”

By Megan Molteni 12 October 2017(Wired) – No one knows what sparked the violent fires ablaze in the hills of California wine country. In the last five days, the flames have torched more than 160,000 acres across Napa and Sonoma counties, reducing parts of Santa Rosa to piles of cinder and ash and leaving more […]

New fire danger threatens to worsen most disastrous wildfire season in California history

Dr. Jeff Masters and Bob Henson 20 October 2017 (Weather Underground) – A record-breaking heat wave will build over Southern California over the weekend and peak on Tuesday, bringing triple-digit temperatures that could set marks for the hottest temperatures ever recorded so late in the year in the Los Angeles area. Accompanying the heat will […]

California’s wildfires aren’t “natural” – Humans made them worse at every step – “Personally, I think it will be one of the worst disasters in California history”

By Umair Irfan  15 October 2017 (Vox) – Raging infernos in California are burning through shrub land and neighborhoods while inching perilously close to San Francisco and Los Angeles.This year is shaping up to be one of the state’s worst fire seasons ever, as windswept flames have scorched more than 214,000 acres and caused at […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of Santa Rosa scarred by wildfire

By Mike Carlowicz 11 October 2017 (NASA) – Devastating wildfires have burned through California’s wine country since October 8, 2017, taking dozens of lives and leaving thousands of people homeless. Even communities distant from the fires have been plagued by poor air quality, as the smoke plumes have darkened skies and canceled school and other […]

New insights from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite showcased in Science magazine

  By Carol Rasmussen 12 October 2017 (JPL) – High-resolution satellite data from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 are revealing the subtle ways that carbon links everything on Earth – the ocean, land, atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems and human activities. Scientists using the first 2 1/2 years of OCO-2 data have published a special collection of five […]

69 Republicans vote against hurricane aid for Puerto Rico, other disaster sites

By Cristina Marcos 12 October 2017 (The Hill) – Legislation to provide $36.5 billion in aid for communities affected by recent wildfires and hurricanes, including Puerto Rico, secured widespread support in the House on Thursday save for 69 Republicans. The votes in opposition included many members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who believe government […]

The catastrophic toll of California’s deadliest wildfires on record: 29 dead, hundreds missing, thousands displaced – “This is a once-in-a-career fire”

By Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Kristine Phillips, Joel Achenbach, and Herman Wong 12 October 2017 SANTA ROSA, California (The Washington Post) – The winds fanning wildfires in Northern California’s wine-country have calmed, for now, giving firefighters a badly needed break from the “red flag” conditions that have made this menacing arc of flames so deadly […]

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