The Curious Case of Hurricane Isaac and Colliding Storms
Although we’re still in the thick of an unusually active hurricane season, and despite the fact that the recovery from Hurricane Isaac has barely begun, the U.S. seems safe for the moment from tropical storms. Out in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Leslie has graduated to hurricane status, making it the sixth hurricane of the year, but while it’s … Read More
Yes, Summers in the U.S. Really Are Getting Warmer
One of the surest signs that the planet is getting warmer is the fact that record high temperatures are outpacing record lows. As of early August, for example we were able to report that with the year a little more than half over, 2012 had already surpassed all of 2011 in terms of record highs in the U.S. It’s unfair to compare just two years, of … Read More
NASA Drones to Spy on Hurricanes, Storm Intensity
NASA will begin sending drones into the teeth of oncoming storms to get a better handle on hurricane intensity evolution.… Read More
Scientists Warn of a World Forced into Vegetarianism
Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages. Humans derive about 20 percent of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to d… Read More
Raging Fire Season Highlights Human Cost of Firefighting
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 … Read More
Isaac Will Lessen Drought, but Only in Some Places
The U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday was different from most such reports, in that it was essentially out of date before it was published. As always, the monitor was based on dryness readings as of 7 A.M. the previous Tuesday, and it’s unusual for conditions to change drastically in such a short time. In fact, the newest drought map showed… Read More
Isaac Weakens, But the Danger is Far From Over
Tropical Storm Isaac stayed at hurricane strength for only about a day, and it was only a middleweight Category 1 hurricane at that, with sustained winds that only reached 80 mph or so; by Thursday morning, those winds had dropped to 45 mph as the eye lumbered at a leisurely 8 mph on a north by northwesterly path through central Louisiana. By … Read More
Slow-Moving Hurricane Isaac Pummels Louisiana
New Orleans’ system of flood-protection levees and canal floodgates, upgraded to the tune of $14.5 billion after the system’s catastrophic failure due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, continued to hold against the wall of water pushed onshore by the storm — a surge that reached 11 feet in Shell Beach, La., according to Brian McNoldy’s Tropical Atlanti… Read More
