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The battle against Big Energy's rush to ruin our planet

Fri, 2012-11-02 19:30 — Maeryn Obley

One plume of oil from BP's 2010 Deepwater Horizon well blowout produced a slick 22 miles long and a mile wide. Photograph: Ted Jackson/Times Picayune/AP

Image: One plume of oil from BP's 2010 Deepwater Horizon well blowout produced a slick 22 miles long and a mile wide. Photograph: Ted Jackson/Times Picayune/AP

guardian.co.uk - October 31st, 2012 - Daryl Hannah

Extreme killer superstorms, historic drought, vanishing sea ice, an increase in ocean acidity by 30%, the hottest decade on record and mega forest fires have increasingly become our new reality.

"That's all happened when you raise the temperature of the earth one degree," says author Bill McKibben, "[t]he temperature will go up four degrees, maybe five, unless we get off coal and gas and oil very quickly." Additional temperature rises could compromise our safety and cause incalculable damage from a large number of billion-dollar disasters in coming years – if we don't address our emissions, insist upon an appropriate climate policy and curtail the rogue fossil fuel industry.

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Few Big FEMA Generators Humming

Fri, 2012-11-02 19:15 — Maeryn Obley

Video: Before Sandy struck, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said they had 400 industrial-size power generators ready to help the East Coast. Three days after Sandy landed, only a fraction of that equipment is actually providing power.

online.wsj.com - November 2nd, 2012 - Devlin Barrett

Before Sandy struck, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said they had 400 industrial-size power generators ready to help the East Coast. Three days after Sandy landed, only a fraction of that equipment is actually providing power, despite the fact that millions are still without electricity.

On Thursday, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said four generators were installed overnight. He said that by the end of the day, he expected there would be roughly 70 generators installed in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, but his figures didn't jibe with those from state officials.

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On Twitter, Sifting Through Falsehoods in Critical Times

Thu, 2012-11-01 22:27 — Maeryn Obley

A startling but manufactured image of the giant storm that made the rounds on Twitter and Facebook. Image: A startling but manufactured image of the giant storm that made the rounds on Twitter and Facebook.

nytimes.com - October 31st, 2012 - Jenna Wortham

During Hurricane Sandy’s peak, Twitter was abuzz with activity, as tens of thousands of people turned to the microblogging service for alerts, updates and real-time reports and photographs of the storm.

 Trouble is, not all of it was true.

Deliberate falsehoods, including images showing the Statue of Liberty engulfed in ominous clouds and sharks swimming through waterlogged suburban neighborhoods quickly spread through the service, as did word that power would be shut off for the entire city of New York and that the floor of the New York Stock Exchange had been flooded.

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Susan's Perspective on Superstorm Sandy

Thu, 2012-11-01 21:34 — mdmcdonald
This e-mail may be more stream of consciousness than anything else but I'll do my best to organize my thoughts.  I'll also include video links where I can.
  • Citizens did not follow the mandatory evacuation order because 
    • When they evacuated for Irene, they found that the places to which they evacuated were hit hard whereas the homes they left behind were fine.
    • Many residents live in highrises and feel that as long as the water doesn't reach their apartment, they'll be safe.  They stock up on batteries, food, water, and medication for a few days but not enough to sustain them for over a week without power.
    • Folks living in houses figured that if things got really bad, they could flee at the last minute.  They did not expect the water to flow in in such a violent fashion nor did they expect the water levels to rise as quickly nor as high as they did.  A friend of mine thought she was prepared because parked her car in her driveway facing outward.  I haven't been able to speak with her since Monday morning, but my guess is that her car is totaled and possibly has floated away.
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In Hurricane’s Wake, Decisions Not to Evacuate Hospitals Raise Questions

Thu, 2012-11-01 21:25 — Maeryn Obley

Patients are taken to ambulances outside of Bellevue Hospital during an evacuation on Oct. 31, in New York. Bellevue Hospital continued to evacuate its patients on Wednesday after flooding inundated the basement and knocked out electricity. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)

Image: Patients are taken to ambulances outside of Bellevue Hospital during an evacuation on Oct. 31, in New York. Bellevue Hospital continued to evacuate its patients on Wednesday after flooding inundated the basement and knocked out electricity. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)

propublica.org - November 1st, 2012 - Sheri Fink

At 9:30 p.m. Monday, Eugene Tangney burst into a meeting of doctors at the command center for Long Island's North Shore-LIJ hospital system. Ceiling tiles creaked in the wind and television screens showed images of Hurricane Sandy slamming into New York City.

"NYU called," Tangney said. "They want to evacuate. I don't know how to help them right now. They're in a panic mode."

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New York Con Edison: Power Restored By Nov. 10, 11

Thu, 2012-11-01 20:51 — Maeryn Obley

huffingtonpost.com - November 1st, 2012 - Melissa Jeltsen

Some New York residents without power might have to wait another week.

Con Edison said it plans to restore power to the vast majority of affected customers by the weekend of November 10 and 11, citing "unprecedented damage" caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Some restorations may take an additional week or more, the company warned, but did not specify where the delays might occur.

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Hurricane Sandy Causes 336,000 Gallons of Diesel to Spill Between Staten Island and New Jersey

Thu, 2012-11-01 20:42 — Maeryn Obley

The Motiva oil tank facility where the spill took place.

Image: The Motiva oil tank facility where the spill took place.

inhabitat.com -November 1st, 2012 - Yuka Yoneda

Just when we thought the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy couldn’t get any worse, news reports are now saying that 336,000 gallons of diesel fuel has spilled into the Arthur Kill waterway between Staten Island and New Jersey. The leak occurred at the Motiva oil tank facility in Woodbridge, N.J. after a storage tank ruptured from a Sandy storm surge. According to NBC News, the Coast Guard is saying they believe that all of the spilled fuel is contained by booms in the waters for now.

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It's Global Warming, Stupid

Thu, 2012-11-01 19:34 — Maeryn Obley

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

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.

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