By David Wallace-Wells 9 September 2017 (New York Magazine) – For decades, a kind of market logic has governed the way we talk about global warming, emanating from the moderate right: Climate change may well be real, the Chamber of Commerce types say, but the need for economic growth is much more urgent and climate […]
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, 10 September 2017 (Associated Press) – Two manatees were stranded after Hurricane Irma sucked the water out of Sarasota Bay, in Florida’s Manatee County. Several people posted photos of the mammals on Facebook Sunday, hoping rescue workers or wildlife officials would respond. Michael Sechler posted that the animals were far too massive […]
By Anthony Faiola 10 September 2017 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (The Washington Post) – The storm-stricken Caribbean took on the feel of a sprawling disaster zone Sunday, with Cuban first responders using inflatable rafts to navigate flooded streets as panicked families sent up social-media pleas in search of loved ones on hard-hit islands further east.In St. John […]
By Jeffry Bartash 9 September 2017 (MarketWatch) – Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have upended the lives of millions of Americans, but the aftereffects will also linger in much smaller way for those entrusted with keeping the U.S. economy safe and sound. The storms caused tremendous damage, forced thousands of businesses to close and compelled millions […]
By Rebecca Leber 8 September 2017 (Mother Jones) – Three weeks ago, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that reversed an Obama-era requirement that future construction in areas likely to flood need to be built at a higher elevation [cf. Trump signs order to end Obama-era flood risk building standards]. But after the devastation […]
By Lindsay Curren 7 September 2017 (A Mind On Our Times) – And Irma, we don’t really give a crap about you, either.Twenty-seven TRILLION gallons of water dumped on Southeast Texas in six days? That’s what the various reports say.And we say, “Big whoop!”Wild-Westy, pavement-obsessedy Houston essentially destroyed, molded, and steeped in a toxic stew […]
By Rachel Lewis 8 September 2017 (TIME) – President Donald Trump’s seaside resort Mar-a-Lago and the surrounding barrier islands have been ordered to evacuate as the ferocious Hurricane Irma approaches Florida.Palm Beach County officials ordered that residents of the islands and low-lying areas should start to leave by 10 a.m. on Friday, the Miami Herald […]
Dr. Jeff Masters 8 September 2017 (Weather Underground) – Hurricane Irma weakened from Category 5 to Category 4 strength on Friday morning, but still represents an extreme danger to much of Southern Florida, as well as portions of northern Cuba and the southernmost Bahama Islands.If you live by the coast in an area that that […]
By Mark Lynas 31 August 2017 (CNN) – This is what climate change looks like. Entire metropolitan areas — Houston in the United States and Mumbai in India — submerged in catastrophic floods.Record-breaking rainfall: Harvey’s 50-plus inches of torrential deluge set a new national tropical cyclone rain record for the continental United States.They used to […]
By Kathryn Watson 8 September 2017 (CBS News) – Four Texas Republicans on Friday voted against the bill that included aid for Hurricane Harvey recovery in their state, along with a debt limit extension.The House approved the legislation 316-90, in a vote that authorized $15.3 billion in aid for those affected by Harvey, raised the […]
