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Archive for October 30th, 2012
Hurricane Sandy Paralyzes New York, New Jersey
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 30th, 2012
Climate Central: For years, public officials and coastal residents of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast were told that the region is extraordinarily vulnerable to storm surge from nor'easters and hurricanes, but it took Hurricane Sandy, an unprecedented combination of both of those storms, to realize the worst-case scenario on Monday evening. When the storm roared ashore near Atlantic City at 8 p.m. on Monday, it pushed a record high wall of water into Lower Manhattan and coastal New Jersey, flooding parts of Lower...
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Global warming hits home
Posted by Salon: Andrew Leonard on October 30th, 2012
Salon: In the middle of Monday night`s Eastern seaboard chaos - the power transformers exploding in sheets of white light, the drowned carousels and vanishing boardwalks - I saw a photograph posted on Facebook so arresting I tweeted it instantly without thinking.
The picture showed floodwaters pushing through the closed door of an elevator shaft into the Hoboken PATH station. The image captured the sheer terror and sense of helplessness provoked by rising floodwaters more succinctly than hours of cable...
Climate Change Likely Makes Storms Like Sandy Worse
Posted by Technology Review: Kevin Bullis on October 30th, 2012
Technology Review: Yesterday a confluence of bad weather that included Hurricane Sandy brought sustained winds of 80 miles per hour, threw a large 13-foot storm surge against New Jersey, and spanned a thousand miles. It forced the cancellation of over 10,000 flights, has left millions without power, and has killed at least 17 people. One early estimate puts the cost of the storm at about $20 billion. The intensity and sheer size of the storm have meteorologists declaring that they’ve never seen anything like this before....
Vulnerability of Infrastructure Revealed During Hurricane Sandy
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: The storm that crippled the New York City region has revealed the extreme vulnerability of its transportation and electricity infrastructure and highlights the need to better protect subways, tunnels, low-lying roads, and power substations as sea levels rise and storms produce higher seawater surges in the future. New York City and the surrounding area experienced unprecedented damage to its transportation infrastructure, with the subway system knocked out for an estimated four to five days, several...
Improving China’s Yellow River: Why Business and Government Need to Work Together
Posted by World Resources Institute: Tien Shiao on October 30th, 2012
World Resources Institute: The Yellow River has played a critical role in the growth and prosperity of Chinese civilization for thousands of years. But today, the Yellow and the people who depend on it face severe challenges. Stress of limited water resources, pollution, and flooding pose significant risks to communities and businesses that rely on the river. As these stresses grow, China’s water managers and users face the daunting challenge of implementing policies that balance economy, ecology, and community.
At the...
Study refines calculations of thawing permafrost
Posted by Associated Press: Dan Joling on October 30th, 2012
Associated Press: A new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey refines estimates of how frozen Arctic soils could thaw and release gases into the atmosphere, including nitrogen, which could have an effect on plants and water.
Lead author Jennifer Harden, a USGS research soil scientist, said it's too soon to make grand statements about nitrogen's effect.
"It's sort of a flag to look at it and measure it in different environments," she said from Menlo Park, Calif. "As of yet, it looks like a very small amount...
Hurricane Sandy has lessons for Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2012
Age: Australian atmospheric scientists and the Bureau of Meteorology are closely monitoring Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy for what it tells them about climate risks in our own region - and the best way to communicate the dangers to the general population.
"Everybody's tracking it here closely," said Karl Braganza, manager of climate monitoring at the Bureau of Meteorology's National Climate Centre in Melbourne.
Sea-surface temperatures in the Atlantic region when Hurricane Sandy - since downgraded...
Why Sandy’s extreme weather may be the shape of storms to come
Posted by Toronto Star: Lisa Palmer on October 30th, 2012
Toronto Star: Climate scientist Kerry Emanuel of MIT calls Hurricane Sandy a hybrid storm, a rare type that scientists don't know much about. He says its damaging rainfall is the sort of thing we'll see more of in the future due to climate change.
Lisa Palmer: Some scientists say Sandy's enormous size is not related to climate change. Others say that all storms now have a global warming component because climate change has altered the background state. What does the science say?
Kerry Emanuel: It is correct...
United Kingdom: No Dash For Gas power station promise
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2012
Guardian: Climate change protesters perched 91m (300ft) up two power station towers have repeated promises to stay for as long as possible, in spite of derisive criticism from the local Labour MP and police estimates that local taxpayers could be hit for £200,000 costs.
The two occupying groups from No Dash for Gas are planning to fly kites in a stiff, chilly breeze from the water cooling towers at West Burton in north Nottinghamshire which has been targeted as one of the UK's new generation of gas-fired...
Storm Barrels Through Region, Leaving Battered Path
Posted by New York Times: James Barron and J. David Goodman on October 30th, 2012
New York Times: As Hurricane Sandy churned inland as a downgraded storm, residents up and down the battered mid-Atlantic region woke on Tuesday to lingering waters, darkened homes and the daunting task of cleaning up from once-in-a-generation storm surges and their devastating effects. Power remained out for roughly six million people, including a large swath of Manhattan. Early risers stepped out into debris-littered streets that remained mostly deserted as residents awaited dawn to shed light on the extent of...