"In the country that gave the world the word tsunami, the Japanese nuclear establishment largely disregarded the potentially destructive force of the walls of water. The word did not even appear in government guidelines until 2006, decades after plants — including the Fukushima Daiichi facility that firefighters are still struggling to get under control — began dotting the Japanese coastline."
"Cameron Hamilton was acting agency chief last year until he was fired amid clashes with Kristi Noem."
"Climate change is causing oceans worldwide to warm. But that year, summertime sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico began heating up at about twice the rate seen in the global oceans."
"President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote a memo last spring laying out how to kill the disaster agency."
"A group of 18 state attorneys general are pushing EPA to delete its public online database of chemical facilities, citing vulnerabilities to hackers or other security threats."
"Across the country, wildland firefighters are staring down what could be one of the most severe fire seasons in recent history. Among those figuring out how to prepare is the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, a brand new agency created by the Trump administration."
"President Trump chose Cameron Hamilton to direct federal disaster response. As acting head of FEMA last year, he had opposed abolishing the agency and was ousted."
Today’s teens are growing up in a world of conspicuous climate change, often directly affected by its consequences. Despite their youth, some are at the forefront of the fight against this threat. Freelance journalist and author Meera Subramanian — co-creator of a new nonfiction graphic novel about young climate campaigners — on teens as sources, activism as a topic and the pleasures of collaboration. See a sample of the book.
Is the United States in the midst of a “nuclear renaissance”? This two-part Backgrounder explores the question, with a look at next-gen reactor design, the (lack of) independence of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and what to do with nuclear waste. Plus, see Part 1 on the government role in developing nuclear power and an earlier effort at industry rebirth.
"Flooding across northern Michigan last month pushed rivers to record levels, testing the limits of the state’s aging dams so severely that officials in one city nearly ordered evacuations as water threatened to spill over the top of a key barrier — a close call that highlights the growing risk that intensifying storms pose to similar infrastructure around the country."
