Rains From Isaac Don’t Put Much Dent in U.S. Drought
Despite locally drenching rains from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac, the worst drought in more than 50 years is still firmly entrenched across much of the U.S. According to the new U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday, the numbers didn’t change dramatically across the country, but the locations of the worst drought conditions did shift. … Read More
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
Italians Pack Speedos as Dolomites See Soaring Temps
Mountain trekkers, packing essentials before heading for the glaciers in the Italian Dolomite mountains, are taking an extra piece of kit — swimming trunks. As Italy sweats through a hot summer, climbers reaching 8,200 feet have been stripping off and plunging into the glacial lake at Antermoia, which is usually icy cold in August and frozen in th… 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
Report: Lack of Sunspots Trigger Frigid Winters in Europe
A new report published in Geophysical Research Letters shows the link between the 11-year sunspot cycle and colder winter. It’s well known that the Sun varies slightly in brightness every 11 years, and while those changes pale beside the effect of human-generated greenhouse gases, they’re enough to trigger unusually cold winters in Central Europe.… Read More
