Less oxygen dissolved in the water is often referred to as a dead zone? (in red above) because most marine life either dies, or, if they are mobile such as fish, leave the area. / NOAA

marcoislandflorida.com - USA Today - by Dan Vergano - June 19, 2013

Environmental biologists foresee a record-size “dead zone” for the Gulf of Mexico this summer, a New Jersey-sized patch of water deadly to marine life, federal officials announced. 

Seen every year off the Texas and Louisiana coasts, the zone forms largely because of fertilizer runoff from the Corn Belt flowing down the Mississippi, where the nutrients spur the growth of the algal blooms that remove oxygen from the water in the Gulf. The especially large size this year of the predicted zone, perhaps 8,500 square miles, appears to be tied to Midwestern floods that washed more nutrients into the river.

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                                                     (CLICK ON MAP IMAGE TO ENLARGE)  

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - June 25, 2013

STUDY - Increased stray gas abundance in a subset of drinking water wells near Marcellus shale gas extraction
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/06/19/1221635110

Homeowners living within one kilometer of shale gas wells appear to be at higher risk of having their drinking water contaminated by stray gases, according to a new Duke University-led study.

Duke scientists analyzed 141 drinking water samples from private water wells across northeastern Pennsylvania’s gas-rich Marcellus shale basin. Their study documented not only higher methane concentrations in drinking water within a kilometer of shale gas drilling — which past studies have shown — but higher ethane and propane concentrations as well.

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newsy.com - by Matt Moreno - June 20, 2013

http://www.newsy.com/videos/farm-bill-fails-in-house-due-to-food-stamp-cuts/

fema.gov

SFI recently released Toward More Resilient Futures: Putting Foresight Into Practice, a document highlighting the value and utility of thinking strategically about the future. The aim of this highly visual document is to help bridge the gap between the theory and practice of strategic foresight. We want our readers to explore the future by immersing themselves in the big issues driving change and to discover real world examples of how individuals and organizations are taking forward-leaning action to enhance disaster resilience.

While SFI’s earlier work centered on a deep analysis of future needs, Toward More Resilient Futures is more practical in focus. The document spotlights competing viewpoints for how recent trends in the economy, environment, technology and security may affect government and disaster management in the near future. It also highlights projects, individuals, and organizations that are pushing the bounds of current thinking and action around emergency management.

mashable.com - May 21st, 2013 - Zoe Fox

Nearly one million people are affected by natural disasters each year. In the U.S. alone, some 400 people die from disasters that cost the economy $17.6 billion. Helping respond to these cataclysmic events, social media is now a go-to tool for those effected by disasters.

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Image: People work on a GMO protest sign.

treehugger.com - June 13th, 2013 - Margaret Badore

Yesterday, Maine's state senate easily passed a bill that may one day mandate the labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms. The law passed 35-0, but before labels are required, five consecutive states must also pass labeling laws.

For Maine, that means the GMO labeling will only go into effect if New Hampshire, the only state with which it shares a border, passes a similar law.

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Photo - Eckerd (Fla.) College Emergency Response Team

submitted by Samuel Bendett

emergencymgmt.com - by Lauren Katims - May 8, 2013

When disaster strikes on or near a college campus, local first responders don’t always have the staff or resources to help immediately — especially when the campus is as big as a small city.

That’s why thousands of students, faculty and staff on campuses nationwide are being certified to help.

Campus Community Emergency Response Teams (C-CERT) are modeled after the national Community Emergency Response Team program, which educates civilians about disaster preparedness and trains them in basic disaster response skills like fire safety, search and rescue, team organization and basic medical operations.

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ops.fhwa.dot.gov

Executive Summary

Almost 5 years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered Louisiana and Texas, respectively, public officials remain focused on the Nation's ability to safely evacuate large numbers of people. As a part of the Fiscal Year 2010 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) appropriations (Public Law 111-117), the U.S. Congress requested the DOT, in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to:

A home destroyed and abandoned after Hurricane Sandy is seen on Fox Beach Avenue in the Oakwood Beach section of Staten Island in New York City, New York, March 25, 2013.  Credit: Reuters/Mike Segar

submitted by John Wysham

reuters.com - by Hilary Russ - June 11, 2013

(Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday announced a $20 billion plan to prepare for rising sea levels and hotter summers expected as a result of climate change in the coming decades.

The ambitious proposal - which could become the benchmark for other cities dealing with climate change - could reshape Lower Manhattan's waterfront, with the possible addition of a "Seaport City" out of the East Side.

The more than 400-page plan, which follows widespread destruction wreaked by Superstorm Sandy last year, included about 250 recommendations ranging from new floodwalls and storm barriers to upgrades of power and telecommunications infrastructures.

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The color scheme ranges from green (least subjected to surveillance) through yellow and orange to red (most surveillance). Note the '2007' date in the image relates to the document from which the interactive map derives its top secret classification, not to the map itself.

mashable.com - by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai - June 8, 2013

The NSA has a tool that records and analyzes all the flow of data that the spy agency collects around the world. Think of it as a global data-mining software that details exactly how much intelligence, and of what type, has been collected from every country in the world. It's aptly called "Boundless Informant."

The tool's existence was revealed on Saturday by The Guardian, which obtained a series of top-secret documents that explain what Boundless Informant is and does.

Image: Flickr/John

submitted by Robyn Wyrick

Congress is grappling with the benefits and risks of using Facebook, Twitter and other social media during emergencies

scientificamerican.com - by Dina Fine Maron - June 7, 2013

When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, Facebook was the new kid on the block. There was no Twitter for news updates, and the iPhone was not yet on the scene. By the time Hurricane Sandy slammed the eastern seaboard last year, social media had become an integral part of disaster response, filling the void in areas where cell phone service was lost while millions of Americans looked to resources including Twitter and Facebook to keep informed, locate loved ones, notify authorities and express support.

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