Do I exaggerate? Time will tell. One similarity can't be denied: levees can fail in California, just as they failed in Louisiana. And if they do, a major disaster and economic collapse could befall our culture, just as it befell New Orleans'. If a big — 6.9 or larger — enormous earthquake hits the BayContinue reading “California’s Katrina: levee failure in the Delta”
Category Archives: disaster
California spurred to change by Gulf oil spill; Californians, not so much
Fascinating duo of stories in today's papers. In the Los Angeles Times, news that the Governor and the California Legislature are moving into high gear on an ambitious renewable energy standard, supported (yes!) by major utilities. In the words of our Gov: "One needs only to look to the Gulf of Mexico and the tragedyContinue reading “California spurred to change by Gulf oil spill; Californians, not so much”
President Obama: Gulf “resilient”: Julia Whitty: “Doomed ecosystem”
Last week the most interesting news on the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico came via veteran environmental reporter Julia Whitty, who was interviewed at length on NPR show Here and Now. In contrast to President Obama, who said on the Today show that there was a "resiliency" in the Gulf, and promised that "essentiallyContinue reading “President Obama: Gulf “resilient”: Julia Whitty: “Doomed ecosystem””
Toles puts the oil spill in a global context
Toles sees the big picture: Unfortunately, it's too true. As Andrew Revkin of the NY Times pointed out a while back, if we actually could see CO2 pollution — if it were, say, pinkish in hue — we might be motivated to act to control emissions and preserve our present-day climate. What our species can'tContinue reading “Toles puts the oil spill in a global context”
Oh boy (I read the news today — the oil news)
If a hurricane comes, it will only the oily mess in the Gulf of Mexico worse: "If you get a storm which is coming toward the coast you can get a significant storm surge," {William] Drennan told [Brian Beutler] in an interview Thursday afternoon. "If you get a storm surge, then the top meter ofContinue reading “Oh boy (I read the news today — the oil news)”
Where the oil will go, scientists say
According to National Center for Atmospheric Research, this animation is the scenario that best fits their model of ocean currents, and their best guess as to what will happen once the gusher of oil from BP's rig in the Gulf of Mexico is "entrained" in the Loop Current that runs around Florida and up theContinue reading “Where the oil will go, scientists say”
The BP oil spill, according to David Brower
It seems that every time mankind is given a lot of energy, we go out and wreck something with it. David Brower (Of course, he said that long ago…it's just that it's still true.) The video of the spill (from BP) is what I can't forget:
Don Blankenship: A coal-black villain worthy of Oliver Stone
Though Oliver Stone is reviled and sometimes revered for his political opinions, those who love the movies of the last three decades know him (or should) as the screenwriter mostly likely to understand — and bring to life — villains. In Platoon, it was the alcoholic sergeant Wall Street, Sgt. Barnes, played by Tom Berenger,Continue reading “Don Blankenship: A coal-black villain worthy of Oliver Stone”
Climate Stability to Vanish in the 2020’s: Dr. Jeff Masters
Dr. Jeff Masters, a scientist, hurricane watcher, founder of a national Internet weather site, and as respected as any meteorologist in the public eye known to this journalist, predicts when climate stability will collapse: There were 88 presentations on arctic sea ice at the 2008 AGU [American Geophysical Union] conference. None of the presenters expressedContinue reading “Climate Stability to Vanish in the 2020’s: Dr. Jeff Masters”
Battle of the Climate Headlines: Wa-Po vs. WSJ
From the Washington Post, yesterday: New Analysis Brings Dire Forecast Of 6.3-Degree Temperature Increase Climate researchers now predict the planet will warm by 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century even if the world's leaders fulfill their most ambitious climate pledges, a much faster and broader scale of change than forecast just twoContinue reading “Battle of the Climate Headlines: Wa-Po vs. WSJ”
Kit Stolz 