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.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Image: Oil derricks like this one outside of Williston, North Dakota, are part of a shale oil boom that has helped put the United States on track to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's leading oil producer. Photograph by Gregory Bull, AP

news.nationalgeographic.com - November 12th, 2012 - Theodore K. Grose

In an indication of how "fracking" is reshaping the global energy picture, the International Energy Agency today projected that the United States will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer by 2017.

And within just three years, the United States will unseat Russia as the largest producer of natural gas.

Both results would have been unthinkable even a few short years ago, but the future geography of supply has shifted dramatically due to what IEA calls America's "energy renaissance."

huffingtonpost.com - November 12th, 2012 - John Rudolf, Ben Hallman, Chris Kirkham, Saki Knafo and Matt Sledge

On the night that Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast, Vinny Baccale was in his Staten Island living room, plotting a last-minute escape and regretting not evacuating, when his kids shouted to him from another room. Their neighbor was outside, trying to start his car in the rising water.

As Baccale stepped to his window, a six-foot wave swept down his block and over the man’s car, propelling it down the dark street.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Image: Members of the Army National Guard Unit Gulf 250 from Morristown, NJ evacuate a victim from Hurricane Sandy on October 31, 2012 in Hoboken, New Jersey. (Getty)

weather.aol.com - October 31st, 2012

National Guard troops delivered food and water to residents in this heavily flooded city across from Manhattan on Wednesday as officials sent out a plea for more supplies, including boats and generators.

Superstorm Sandy sent the raging Hudson River waters from one side of the one-square-mile city to the other Monday. Two days later, at least 25 percent of the community was flooded and 90 percent was without power, leaving many residents increasingly anxious and municipal leaders struggling to get assistance to all those who need it.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Image: The twisted remains of a Hudson River marina are seen across from New York City as a result of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in Hoboken, NJ. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

bradenton.com - October 30th, 2012 - Samantha Henry

National Guard troops delivered food and water to residents in this heavily flooded city across from Manhattan on Wednesday as officials sent out a plea for more supplies, including boats and generators.

Superstorm Sandy sent the raging Hudson River waters from one side of the one-square-mile city to the other Monday. Two days later, at least 25 percent of the community was flooded and 90 percent was without power, leaving many residents increasingly anxious and municipal leaders struggling to get assistance to all those who need it.

Tempers flared Wednesday at a staging area outside City Hall, where a man screamed at emergency officials about why food and water had not been delivered to residents just a few blocks away.

Doctors Without Borders has arrived in the Rockaways.

http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/north-america/united-states/new-york/new-york-city/Far-Rockaways-Global-Disaster-Zone.html?page=all

nycgov.tumblr.com

This evening, November 6th, 2012, Mayor Bloomberg issued mandatory evacuation orders for four health care facilities in the Rockaways:

• Park Nursing Home (181 residents)
• Ocean Promenade Nursing Center (91 residents)
• Peninsula Center for Extended Care and Rehabilitation (180 residents)
• Surfside Manor Home for Adults (173 residents)

The facilities are in the most heavily-impacted area of the Rockaways and have been successfully operating on generator power. The impending Nor’easter storm surge could compromise the facilities’ generators, putting the elderly residents at risk. All facilities will be evacuated tonight to protect the health and safety of residents and staff.

http://nycgov.tumblr.com/post/35162642365/mayor-announces-mandatory-evacuation-of-four-health

https://twitter.com/nycgov/status/265994702581547008

reuters.com - November 4th, 2012 - Krista Hughes and Julien Toyer

Finance chiefs of leading economies pressed the United States on Sunday to avert a rush of spending cuts and tax hikes that could hurt global output next year, though some countries still saw Europe's debt crisis as the No. 1 danger.

Unless a fractious Congress can move quickly to reach a deal after Tuesday's U.S. elections, about $600 billion in government spending cuts and higher taxes are set to kick in from Jan. 1, threatening to push the American economy back into recession.
   
"They need to act swiftly on the fiscal cliff and then they will need to put in place a medium-term fiscal consolidation," Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan told Reuters before ministers from the Group of 20 countries gathered for talks.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Image: A NASA satellite image shows Hurricane Sandy battering the Caribbean on Thursday. (Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)

nytimes.com - October 26th, 2012 - John H. Cushman Jr.

The United States is facing a year or more without crucial satellites that provide invaluable data for predicting storm tracks, a result of years of mismanagement, lack of financing and delays in launching replacements, according to several recent official reviews.

 The looming gap in satellite coverage, which some experts view as almost certain within the next few years, could result in shaky forecasts about storms like Hurricane Sandy, which is expected to hit the East Coast early next week.

The endangered satellites fly pole-to-pole orbits and cross the Equator in the afternoon, scanning the entire planet one strip at a time. Along with orbiters on other timetables, they are among the most effective tools used to pin down the paths of major storms about five days ahead.

image: Hurricane Sandy churns off the coast of Florida as a line of clouds associated with a powerful cold front approaches the U.S. East Coast on Oct. 26, 2012

businessweek.com - November 1st, 2012 - Paul M. Barrett

Men and women in white lab coats tell us—and they’re right—that many factors contribute to each severe weather episode. Climate deniers exploit scientific complexity to avoid any discussion at all.

Clarity, however, is not beyond reach. Hurricane Sandy demands it: At least 40 U.S. deaths.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

huffingtonpost.com - November 1st, 2012 - Matthew Craft

Widespread power outages and subway shutdowns may wind up making Superstorm Sandy the second most expensive storm in U.S. history, according to the forecasting firm Eqecat. That would rank it right behind Hurricane Katrina.

Eqecat said Thursday that the damage from the storm will likely be far worse than it previously predicted, largely a result of Sandy hitting the most densely populated area in the country.

The firm doubled its previous estimate for the total bill and now says Sandy may have caused between $30 billion and $50 billion in economic losses, including property damage, lost business and extra living expenses.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

On Staten Island, New York, a large ship is grounded on Front Street, Tuesday, October 30, 2012, as residents assess damage after Hurricane Sandy. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT / October 30, 2012)

latimes.com - by Deborah Netburn - October 30, 2012

The TV networks will give us the big news stories, but what about getting information on a hyper-local level — like, did your apartment flood, and do you have heat?

To start, keep close tabs on Facebook and Twitter for updates from your social network. It will give you a sense of how the people closest to you are faring without you needing to waste their valuable cellphone battery time.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

http://google.org/crisismap/2012-sandy

Sandy is a major storm, previously a hurricane, that has caused extensive flooding, power and transportation outages, and physical damage to the US East Coast and Caribbean. More than 100 deaths have been linked to the storm.

A cooling tower is seen at the Salem nuclear power plant known as Artificial Island. (Mel Evans/AP Photo)

ABC News - by Mark Schone - October 30, 2012

The nation's oldest nuclear plant declared an alert and a second plant just 40 miles from New York City was forced to shut down power as five different nuke plants in Hurricane Sandy's path experienced problems during the storm.

Indian Point in Buchanan, New York, on the Hudson River north of New York City, automatically shut power to its unit 3 on Monday night "as a result of an electrical grid disturbance," according to Entergy, the plant's operator.

The connection between the generator and the offsite grid was lost, and the unit is designed to shut down to protect itself from electrical damage.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)