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Texas Refineries Could Take Two Weeks To Fully Restore Operations After Storm
Texas Refineries Could Take Two Weeks To Fully Restore Operations After Storm Most refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast have begun procedures to restart operations that were disrupted by the massive winter storm late last week, but a full return to normal output of motor fuels could take up to two weeks for some facilities. […]
Eastern US Power Grid Declares Emergency, Power Outages Top One Million, Flight Disruptions Persist Amid Storm Chaos
Eastern US Power Grid Declares Emergency, Power Outages Top One Million, Flight Disruptions Persist Amid Storm Chaos The powerful winter storm that battered a large swath of the eastern half of the US has left behind an Arctic chill Saturday morning. A regional power grid with 65 million customers in 13 states and the District […]
The US Northeast is hurtling toward a winter heating crisis
The US Northeast is hurtling toward a winter heating crisis Linda and her husband, Jeff Grossman, has been hit hard by the cost of home heating oil. She’ll probably end up spending $3,200 this winter for oil, about 60 percent more than last winter.MATTHEW J. LEE/GLOBE STAFF In the most densely populated corner of the […]
Biodiversity: Targets and lies
Biodiversity: Targets and lies Victor Anderson and Rupert Read dissect the recent and ‘historic’ biodiversity CoP15 agreement. Great rejoicing has followed the biodiversity agreement recently arrived at, just in time for Christmas. For example, ‘The Times’ editorial began: “The agreement in Montreal by 195 countries to protect wildlife and ecosystems, with 30 per cent of […]
The weather nightmare before Christmas
The weather nightmare before Christmas A sprawling cold wave and blizzard will bring some of the nation’s most dangerous and disruptive pre-holiday weather in recent decades. Dangerous white-out conditions, such as those that closed I-87 in Oregon during a 2017 winter storm, could plague many U.S. roadways late this week. (Image credit: Oregon Department of Transportation […]
Strong signs that La Nina is breaking down
Strong signs that La Nina is breaking down After three successive La Niñas, there are strong signs that the latest La Niña is quickly waning and will release its grip and move towards neutral in its effect on Australia in the second half of summer into autumn, as the previous two did. This means we […]
Dust Bowl 2.0 – they’re coming back!
Dust Bowl 2.0 – they’re coming back! Preface. Two forms of soil erosion may bring back the Great Depression Dustbowls. The first is that Great Plains grasslands have been replaced with corn crops to grow ethanol, which have increased the amount of dust 100% over the past 20 years. The second is the destruction of biocrusts […]
The Simple Story of Civilization
The Simple Story of Civilization The stories we fashion about ourselves are heavily influenced by our short life spans during an age of unprecedented complexity. We humans, it would seem, are unfathomably complicated creatures who defy simple “just-so” characterizations. Animals, or humans tens of thousands of years ago are fair game for simple stories, but […]
Central Asia’s ’Water Wars” Are Heating Up
Central Asia’s ’Water Wars” Are Heating Up Access to water has been a point of conflict in Central Asia for years. Environmental changes have raised temperatures in Central Asia faster than the global average. While the upstream Kyrgyzstanis and Tajikistanis have plenty of water, Uzbekistan wholly relies on a steady supply of water for its […]
White Christmas? Meteorologists Warn Of Potential “Blizzard Over East Coast”
White Christmas? Meteorologists Warn Of Potential “Blizzard Over East Coast” Long-range weather models forecast the increasing possibility of a white Christmas for parts of the Northeast. “Some of the models are depicting a weather pattern taking shape that could result in very cold air pouring into the central and eastern United States next week — […]
Americans Face Elevated Winter Power Outage Risks From Tight Fuel Supplies, Faltering Grid: Report
A Boston-area resident shoveling snow. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds) Americans Face Elevated Winter Power Outage Risks From Tight Fuel Supplies, Faltering Grid: Report As the snow flies and temperatures plummet, regulatory agencies and analysts alike warn that residents in multiple U.S. states are at an elevated risk of dangerous winter blackouts. States such as Texas and North […]
First Big Freeze Puts “Heavy Strain” On European Power Grids
First Big Freeze Puts “Heavy Strain” On European Power Grids Europe’s cold blast is due to a weak, polar vortex split in the stratosphere, which allowed high pressure to build across Greenland last week. As a result, Arctic air poured over the energy-stricken continent, sending natural gas and power prices higher. The unseasonably cold weather will […]
Coast-To-Coast Winter Storm Sends US NatGas Surging
Coast-To-Coast Winter Storm Sends US NatGas Surging In what’s forecasted to be the first coast-to-coast major winter storm of the season across the Lower 48, traders have furiously panic bid US natural gas futures due to the prospects of increased heating demand. On Sunday, wintery precipitation, powerful winds, and heavy rains battered Intermountain West as a powerful […]
What “longtermism” gets wrong about climate change
What “longtermism” gets wrong about climate change Corn affected by 2013 drought in Texas. Global warming is making summer droughts in Texas longer and more severe. USDA photo by Bob Nichols In his new book What We Owe the Future, William MacAskill outlines the case for what he calls “longtermism.” That’s not just another word for […]
