You are here

Home

Problem

Scientists Just Documented a Massive Recent Melt Event on the Surface of Antarctica

Thu, 2017-06-15 23:26 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

An iceberg lies in the Ross Sea with Mount Erebus in the background near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, in November 2016. (AFP/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Nature Communications - January 2016 extensive summer melt in West Antarctica favoured by strong El Niño

washingtonpost.com - by Chris Mooney - June 15, 2017

Scientists have documented a recent, massive melt event on the surface of highly vulnerable West Antarctica that, they fear, could be a harbinger of future events as the planet continues to warm.

In the Antarctic summer of 2016, the surface of the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest floating ice platform on Earth, developed a sheet of meltwater that lasted for as long as 15 days in some places. The total area affected by melt was 300,000 square miles, or larger than the state of Texas, the scientists report.

That’s bad news because surface meltin g could work hand in hand with an already documented trend of ocean-driven melting to compromise West Antarctica, which contains over 10 feet of potential sea level rise.

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Sea Level
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

How G.O.P. Leaders Came to View Climate Change as Fake Science

Mon, 2017-06-05 09:35 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

A coal-fired power station in Mount Storm, W.Va., in January. The coal industry played an instrumental role in efforts to unwind the Obama administration’s climate policies. Credit Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

nytimes.com - by Coral Davenport and Eric Lipton - June 3, 2017

The Republican Party’s fast journey from debating how to combat human-caused climate change to arguing that it does not exist is a story of big political money, Democratic hubris in the Obama years and a partisan chasm that grew over nine years like a crack in the Antarctic shelf, favoring extreme positions and uncompromising rhetoric over cooperation and conciliation . . .

<In 2008 Senator John McCain, who had just secured the Republican nomination for President, sounded the alarm on global warming.>

 . . . Since Mr. McCain ran for president on climate credentials that were stronger than his opponent Barack Obama’s, the scientific evidence linking greenhouse gases from fossil fuels to the dangerous warming of the planet has grown stronger.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

What Happens to Earth if the US Exits the Climate Deal?

Sat, 2017-05-27 22:48 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

Credit:  AP Photo/Jim Cole, File

washingtonpost.com - Associated Press - May 27, 2017

 . . . In an attempt to understand what could happen to the planet if the U.S. pulls out of Paris, The Associated Press consulted with more than two dozen climate scientists and analyzed a special computer model scenario designed to calculate potential effects.

Scientists said it would worsen an already bad problem, and make it far more difficult to prevent crossing a dangerous global temperature threshold.

 . . . “The U.S. matters a great deal . . . That amount could make the difference between meeting the Paris limit of two degrees and missing it” . . . 

While scientists may disagree on the computer simulations they overwhelmingly agreed that the warming the planet is undergoing now would be faster and more intense.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Petrochemical
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

‘They’re Just Hiding’: Experts Say Puerto Rico May Be Underreporting Zika-Affected Births

Wed, 2017-04-19 09:08 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Alicia Juarrero

           

A mother caresses her 2-month-old son, who has been diagnosed with microcephaly.  CARLOS GIUSTI/AP

statnews.com - by Helen Branswell - April 8, 2017

The number of babies born in Puerto Rico with microcephaly and other birth defects caused by the Zika virus appears to be unexpectedly low — so low that experts are beginning to question whether the actual count is being significantly underreported by authorities on the island.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Disease
Health
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem

Hidden Data Suggests Fracking Created Widespread, Systemic Impact in Pennsylvania

Tue, 2017-01-24 07:07 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

Annual citizen complaints reported to PA DEP compared to the annual number of new unconventional oil and gas wells. © Public Herald

Trends Show Impacts Are Getting Worse

publicherald.org - by Melissa A. Troutman, Sierra Shamer and Joshua B. Pribanic

After a three-year investigation in Pennsylvania, Public Herald has uncovered evidence of widespread and systemic impacts related to “fracking,” a controversial oil and gas technology.

Ending over a decade of suppression by the state, this evidence is now available to the public for the first time.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Environment
Fracking
Petrochemical
Pollution
Water
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

Clean Water Crisis Threatens US

Sat, 2016-06-11 18:07 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

Aerial view overlooking landscaping on April 4, 2015 in San Diego, California.  Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

by Sarah Ferris and Peter Sullivan - April 25, 2016

The United States is on the verge of a national crisis that could mean the end of clean, cheap water.

Hundreds of cities and towns are at risk of sudden and severe shortages, either because available water is not safe to drink or because there simply isn’t enough of it.

The situation has grown so dire the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence now ranks water scarcity as a major threat to national security alongside terrorism.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Policy
Pollution
Scarcity
Water
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

Winter Storm Jonas

Tue, 2016-01-26 19:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

AN EXPANDING LIST OF INFORMATION ON WINTER STORM JONAS:

CLICK HERE - The Washington Post - Mid-Atlantic coastline flooded by blizzard’s storm surge. ‘This is worse than Sandy.’

CLICK HERE - National Weather Service - Active Alerts

CLICK HERE - NOAA - Forecasts and Warnings - Storm Surge and Coastal Inundation

CLICK HERE - National Weather Service - TIDES, TIDE GUIDANCE, and TIDAL IMPACT TABLES

CLICK HERE - nj.com - When to expect high tide flooding along the Jersey Shore this weekend

CLICK HERE - nbcnewyork.com - Road Travel Banned, Mass Transit Curtailed as Snowstorm Blasts Region

CLICK HERE - CNN - Blizzard strikes East Coast; motorists stranded for hours in 3 states

Country / Region Tags: 
US - East
US - NorthEast
General Topic Tags: 
Extreme Weather
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

Snow Total Forecast - Winter Storm Jonas

Wed, 2016-01-20 23:52 — Kathy Gilbeaux
Country / Region Tags: 
US - East
US - NorthEast
General Topic Tags: 
Extreme Weather
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

US Health Care Unprepared for Ebola

Wed, 2014-10-29 15:54 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

FILE- In this Oct. 24, 2014, file photo, members of the Department of Defense's Ebola Military Medical Support Team dress with protective gear during training at San Antonio Military Medical Center in San Antonio. Even small clusters of Ebola cases could overwhelm parts of US medical care system, according to an Associated Press review of readiness at hospitals and other components of the emergency medical network. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) The Associated Press
 
AP - abcnews.go.com - By JEFF DONN and GARANCE BURKE - October 29, 2014

The U.S. health care apparatus is so unprepared and short on resources to deal with the deadly Ebola virus that even small clusters of cases could overwhelm parts of the system, according to an Associated Press review of readiness at hospitals and other components of the emergency medical network.

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Contagion
Disease
Health
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

Gas pipeline expansion should alarm homeowners

Sun, 2014-10-26 16:04 — Maeryn Obley

washingtonpost.com - October 17th, 2014 - Marcia Greenburg

Homeowners and communities are unprepared for an invasion of their cherished private yards and public spaces.

The Mid-Atlantic region is facing an expansion of natural gas transport infrastructure that threatens communities’ health, safety and homes. With increased hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and plans to export liquefied natural gas (LNG), the gas industry needs supporting infrastructure. 

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Energy
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem

Pages

Subscribe to Problem
howdy folks