Archive for September 2nd, 2012

Isaac’s remnants bring rain to drought-hit Midwest

Reuters: The remnants of Hurricane Isaac brought rain to drought-stricken parts of the lower U.S. Midwest on Saturday after the storm killed at least 30 people on its trek across the Caribbean and Louisiana and Mississippi, authorities said. Rainfall totals of no more than 3 inches were expected through the lower Ohio River Valley by Saturday night after Isaac lost much of its punch while passing over Missouri. Top sustained winds had dropped to 20 miles per hour and flash flood threats were diminishing,...

Report: Climate change ruined summer of 2012

KST: A report released Thursday by the National Wildlife Federation points to scorching wildfires, extreme heat, fish kills and ruined crops brought on by the choke hold climate change has had on the United States this summer. "Ruined Summer: How Climate Change Scorched the Nation in 2012" details what it characterizes as dramatic and extreme weather events that have dominated the landscape - from July being the warmest month on record to the more than 113 million people in the U.S. living under "heat...

Encroaching Seas Pit Parking Against Preservation

Daily Climate: A sign at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service visitor center here states a simple motto: "Where Wildlife Comes First." But many visitors never see the sign, or much wildlife. Cars stream past the center on hot summer days, headed for a mile-long public beach at the refuge's southern end. The prime goals are sand, surf, and a parking spot close to the water. But sea-level rise threatens the refuge's future as a beach destination. It's on Assateague Island, a barrier island off the coasts of Virginia...

Raging Fire Season Highlights Human Cost of Firefighting

Climate Central: Earlier this month, a 20-year-old digging a fire line in the Idaho mountains was killed by a falling tree, making her the 12th person to die in forest firefighting operations around the country this year. When I attended her funeral a few days later, nearly 300 of her fellow U.S. Forest Service firefighters lined up outside Moscow, Idaho's, Church of the Nazarene in their flame-retardant work gear -- shirts the color of sunflowers tucked into rugged, jade-green pants -- and watched bagpipers and...

Isaac Is Latest Blow to Swampy South Louisiana

New York Times: The end of the earth was farther away than usual. The only lights in the Venice marina were the full moon and the running lights on Acy Cooper’s shrimp boat, the Miss Marla Kay, one of a tiny fleet that had made the eight-hour trip down the Mississippi River on Friday. Mr. Cooper and the other shrimpers had weathered Hurricane Isaac on their boats outside of New Orleans. Their arrival here in Venice, the first time they have returned since the storm, roughly doubled the community’s population. All...