The disposal facility for mixed and low-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state is shown in an aerial image.  U.S. Department of Energy

NBC News - By Mike Baker and Shannon Dininny, The Associated Press - February 15, 2013

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A tank that holds radioactive liquids is leaking at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday, raising concerns about the integrity of other storage facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

The U.S. Department of Energy said liquid levels are decreasing in one of 177 underground tanks at the nuclear reservation. Monitoring wells near the tank have not detected higher radiation levels, the agency said. Inslee said the leak could be in the range of 150 gallons to 300 gallons over the course of a year.

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Hardy Street in front of the University of Southern Mississippi campus is obstructed by debris blown by an apparent tornado in Hattiesburg, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/The Student Printz, Jana Edwards)

hattiesburgamerican.com - February 11, 2013

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has received reports of damage from nine counties as a result of severe weather that moved through the state on Sunday.There were at least 63 injuries, two critical and the rest minor. There are no reported deaths.

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NOAA Graphical Forecasts

Press Release from the United States Environmental Protection Agency - February 4, 2013

Improving housing quality can dramatically affect the health of residents

WASHINGTON – Several federal agencies today unveiled Advancing Healthy Housing – A Strategy for Action. White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, M.D., and Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman discussed the new plan during an event at the National Building Museum this morning.

The initiative represents a bold new vision for addressing the nation’s health and economic burdens caused by preventable hazards associated with the home. The Strategy for Action encourages federal agencies to take preemptive actions that will help reduce the number of American homes with health and safety hazards.

The 2013 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit is the premier event dedicated to transformative energy solutions. It brings together leaders from academia, business, and government to discuss energy issues and facilitate relationships to help move cutting-edge technologies into the marketplace.

Don't miss this chance to network with federal government leaders, breakthrough technology companies and entrepreneurs, and researchers ready to collaborate.

Image: Thousands of birds fill the sky above the White Nile at sunset. (Photo by Jon Waterhouse)

Submitted by Samuel Bendett

newswatch.nationalgeographic.com - January 18th, 2013 - Jon Waterhouse

A December 23rd fire in South Sudan prompted a fast, steady and miraculous aid response.

For the last four years, in the remote village of Old Fangak, South Sudan, a health-focused team of Alaskan volunteers have labored long and hard beside steadfast community members. The focus of their combined effort is the construction of a humble medical clinic. A disease called kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis), often referred to as Black Fever, has ravaged the area for decades and in 1989 Dr. Jill Seaman (featured in the January 2013 issue of National Geographic Magazine) arrived in Old Fangak.

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Submitted by Luis Kun

mountsinai.org - January 17th, 2013

Scientists have discovered that that the flu virus can essentially tell time, thereby giving scientists the ability to reset the virus' clock and combat it in more effective ways. According to researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the flu knows how much time it has to multiply, infect other cells, and spread to another human being. If it leaves a cell too soon, the virus is too weak. If it leaves too late, the immune system has time to kill the virus.

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Forecast high temperatures on Monday, Jan. 21, from the GFS computer model.
Click to enlarge the image. Credit: Weatherbell

climatecentral.org - by Andrew Freedman - January 21, 2013

An unusual event playing out high in the atmosphere above the Arctic Circle is setting the stage for what could be weeks upon weeks of frigid cold across wide swaths of the U.S., having already helped to bring cold and snowy weather to parts of Europe.

This phenomenon, known as a “sudden stratospheric warming event,” started on Jan. 6, but is something that is just beginning to have an effect on weather patterns across North America and Europe. . .

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Damage in the Rockaway neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., where the historic boardwalk was washed away during Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 31, 2012. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

propublica.org - by Theodoric Meyer - January 18, 2013

When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, Congress passed two relief bills almost unanimously. But when it comes to Hurricane Sandy, some in Congress seem to have had a change of heart.

In total, 58 representatives voted against bills this month similar to ones that they had supported after Katrina.

Here's a breakdown of how each of them voted on the two Katrina bills and the two Sandy ones:

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cbsnews.com - by Jonathan LaPook - January 9, 2013

(CBS News) The national flu epidemic is getting worse by the day: On Wednesday, Boston -- with a population of at least 600,000 -- declared a public health emergency after the virus killed more than a dozen people.

At least three more states -- Montana, South Dakota and Arizona -- are now reporting widespread flu, bringing the total to 44 states.

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Image: Correlation of violent protests in Africa and the Middle East with local food prices.

compression.org - October 25th, 2012 - Robert W. "Doc" Hall

Formal risk management has become common in large organizations. Risk management has become complex, standardized in ISO 31000, and meriting university degrees. Most risk assessment multiplies the consequences of an event times its probability to create a risk index. Managements can then choose to eliminate, mitigate, or accept each risk.

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Image: 2010 Drought in Russia. (c) New York Times.

foreignpolicyblogs.com - November 10th, 2012 - Mia Bennett

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and National Research Council (NRC) have released a report commissioned by the CIA and various other American intelligence agencies on the security threats posed by climate change. The report’s goal is to inform intelligence agencies as to how to best carry out monitoring to anticipate climate-related disasters, help prevent them from occurring, and, when they do, respond to emergencies. The report investigates how climate change could potentially induce social and political stresses that will affect U.S. security over the next decade.

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