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The U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday was different from most such reports, in that it was essentially out of date before it was published.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
Scientists Suggest ‘Cloud Brightening’ To Halt Hurricanes
As Tropical Storm Isaac batters southeastern Louisiana and nearby coastal areas with surging seas, howling winds, and torrential rainfall, it’s nearly impossible to imagine that humans could have done anything to stop such powerful force of nature. Nearly impossible, but not quite. A team of atmospheric scientists, writing in the journal Atmosphe… Read More
Isaac Upgraded to a Hurricane, Slams Into Louisiana
Shortly after noon on Tuesday, the Weather Channel reported that Isaac had been upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane, with sustained winds above 74 mph, hours before its expected landfall in southeastern Louisiana Tuesday night.… Read More
