Statistics Show Hurricane Sandy’s Extraordinary Intensity
What’s noteworthy about these air pressure records is that they show that the storm was even more intense than a worst-case scenario studied by MIT’s Kerry Emanuel and Princeton’s Michael Oppenheimer. They published a study in June that warned of New York City’s vulnerability to storm surge flooding, but the storm they modeled had a minimum central… Read More
A Roundup of Hurricane Sandy News Reports
In the hardest-hit regions, however, from southern New Jersey up through New York City and east along Long Island and the Connecticut coast, the story was no longer the storm itself, but rather on the causes (especially Sandy’s possible relationship to climate change) and on the grim aftermath — millions without power, tens of thousands evacuated … Read More
Hurricane Sandy Roars Ashore, Threatening Record Surge
After days of intense preparations, East Coast residents were beginning to feel the full effects of Hurricane Sandy on Monday as it brought tropical storm force winds to New York City, along with a damaging storm surge. Officials and homeowners from Delaware to Massachusetts were anxiously awaiting Monday evening’s high tide, which will occur just … Read More
Powerful Windstorm Winds Down in Plains, Midwest
The storm, which was centered across the Upper Midwest but has since drifted eastward and weakened, was a very powerful area of low pressure fueled by the strong temperature contrast between cooler and drier Canadian air masses and warmer and more humid air well to the south. These types of storms are actually rather common in the fall, when such l… Read More
Churches Send Jolt of Energy to Mich. Renewables Plan
"As a pastor, I look at the call in the first book of Genesis, to care for the Earth, and to the gospels' call to love thy neighbor," said the Rev. Terry Gallagher, a pastor at Sacred Conversation in Trenton, Mich. "If we don't change energy paths, we're dooming the future of the Earth." The Renewable Energy Amendment would mandate tha… Read More
Another Week Brings More Pessimistic Drought News
As has been the case throughout the month of September, the latest weekly drought update shows that drought conditions have tightened their grip on the Plains States and Western U.S., and the overall drought footprint expanded to encompass 65.45 percent of the lower 48 states, up from 64.8 percent on Sept. 18. As of Sept. 25, the worst categories … Read More
Climate Change and Fall Foliage: Not a Good Match
This year, at least in some places, the money may not be flowing in. “I hope I’m wrong, said Karl Niklas, a professor of plant biology at Cornell, in an interview, “but I just think it’s not going to be a great year in central New York.… Read More
Report: The Age of Western Wildfires
The 2012 wildfire season isn't over yet, but already this year is shaping up to be the worst on record for fires in the American West. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, with two months still to go in the fire season, the total area already burned this year is 30 percent more than in an average year and fires burning right now acros… Read More
