Monthly Archives: May 2016

Bad News from Australia – Lay Offs of Climate Change Scientists

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Sadly, this sounds like a case of Shooting the Messengers Who Bring Bad News.

From the NY times,  Australia to Lay Off Leading Scientist on Sea Levels

A pre-eminent scientist in the field of rising global sea levels has been given notice of his dismissal as part of deep cuts at Australia’s national science agency that will reduce the country’s role in global climate research.

The scientist, John Church, confirmed Tuesday that he was one of 275 scientists that the agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, or Csiro, said would be laid off.

He said he had been informed that Csiro was “consolidating” the team studying the effects of sea level change and “ceasing work” on rising sea levels.

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New Document from the UK

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Crisis Management – Guidance and Good Practice (PAS 200) – this is a 48 page document that may be of interest to readers.

Thanks to Dr. Younhee Kim, in Seoul Korea, for this citation.

Some content on this page was disabled on February 12, 2019 as a result of a DMCA takedown notice from BSI. You can learn more about the DMCA here:

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Climate -Driven Water Scarcity Forecast

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Climate-driven water scarcity could reduce economic growth by up to 6%: World Bank

Water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, could cost some regions up to 6 percent of their GDP, spur migration, and spark conflict, according to a new World Bank report released the other day. The report says the combined effects of growing populations, rising incomes, and expanding cities will see demand for water rising exponentially, while supply becomes more erratic and uncertain.

A Tragedy Made Worse by Human Action

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Explosion That Killed 15 at Texas Fertilizer Plant Is Ruled Intentional

The fire that set off one of the worst industrial disasters in Texas history — the deadly explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Tex., in 2013 — was intentionally set, federal officials announced on Wednesday.

The announcement by investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives came three years after the explosion at the West Fertilizer Company plant on April 17, 2013. In the years since, law enforcement officials had never revealed a cause. They had previously said three possibilities were under consideration, including faulty electrical wiring, a short-circuit in an electrical golf cart and an intentional act of arson.

Hellish Heat May Lead to Climate Exodus

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It seems ironic that some of the areas of the world most conflict-ridden at the present time may become undesirable to live in due to high temperatures rather than war. See: Hellish Heat Could Spark ‘Climate Exodus’ In Africa And Middle East. A study predicts climate change will cause sweltering temperatures and extreme dust storms that will leave the region uninhabitable.

Scorching temperatures brought on by climate change could leave large swaths of the Middle East and North Africa uninhabitable by the middle of this century, a new study predicts.

Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and The Cyprus Institute in Nicosia crunched the numbers and found that this area, a “climate change hotspot“ where days of extreme heat have doubled since 1970, could soon be plagued by weather so brutal that it triggers a “climate exodus.”

On the hottest of days, temperatures in North Africa and the Middle East can reach highs of around 109 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the findings. But that figure could soar to 114 degrees by 2050, and 122 degrees by 2100 — extremes the researchers say could have “important consequences for human health and society.”

 

 

“The Role of States in Disaster Recovery” – a video

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From the Coastal States Resilience center this video titled the Role of States in Disaster Recovery.

“The Role of States in Disaster Recovery,” is an instructional video combining research and oral history to address dealing with the type of large-scale natural disasters that coastal states face. It focuses on the recovery from Hurricane Floyd (North Carolina, 1999) and Hurricane Katrina (Mississippi, 2005). Both storms were the costliest in their states’ respective histories.