Drought Prompts Natural Disaster Declaration in 26 States
The most widespread drought in the U.S. since 1988 has prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue a natural disaster declaration for about 1,000 counties in 26 states, making farm operators eligible for low interest emergency loans.… Read More
Sea Level Rise: It Could Be Worse than We Think
A new analysis released Thursday in the journal Science implies that the seas could rise dramatically higher over the next few centuries than scientists previously thought — somewhere between 18-to-29 feet above current levels, rather than the 13-to-20 feet than the numbers they were talking about just a few years ago. The increase in sea level … Read More
Colorado’s ‘Most Destructive’ Fire Now Fully Contained
The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that the Waldo Canyon fire, the “most destructive fire ever to rip through Colorado, was 100 percent contained. This does not mean that every blaze of the fire has been extinguished but means the fire’s “boundaries are fully under control. A spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, Pat Collrin, said that … Read More
Spurred by Record Heat, Drought Stretches Across U.S.
According to the Drought Monitor, in the 18 main corn-growing states, 30 percent of the corn crop is now listed as being in “poor or “very poor condition, an increase from 22 percent the previous week. “In addition, fully half of the nation’s pastures and ranges are in poor or very poor condition, up from 28 percent in mid-June, the report state… Read More
Preventing Fires, Before Everything’s Aflame
Wildfires have been national news this summer. Massive, destructive burns in Colorado and New Mexico have emblazoned websites and T.V. screens across the country. But just as the monsoon rains roll into the Southwest bringing much needed moisture, the nation’s gaze over the fires will move on too. The wildfires are just the eye-catching … Read More
Heidi Cullen Tackles Climate Extremes on ABC News
The July 10 release of two comprehensive climate science reports by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sparked widespread media coverage, including at Climate Central and elsewhere. The reports depicted the human influence on the global climate system during 2011, using indicators such as the amount of greenhouse gases in … Read More
New Reports Show Impact of Manmade Global Warming
The influence of manmade global warming on the climate system continues to grow, with human fingerprints identified in more than two dozen climate “indicators examined by an international research team “ from air temperatures to ocean acidity “ for a comprehensive annual “State of the Climate report released Tuesday. In a related study also … Read More
El Nino May Be On the Way, Altering Weather Patterns
El Niño events can also help boost global average surface temperatures. A strong El Niño event led to the record warm year of 1998, and some climate scientists, including NASA’s James Hansen, have pointed out that a new El Niño event would likely lead to another record warm year given the combination of El Niño and manmade global warming.… Read More
