"Many of the world's most extreme weather events witnessed in 2017, from Europe's "Lucifer" heat wave to Hurricane Harvey's record-breaking rainfall, were made much more likely by the influence of the global warming caused by human activities, meteorologists reported on Monday."
Environmental justice-related stories are expected to get more attention in the news media in 2019. But that’s not because the challenge of protecting marginalized communities from lopsided environmental impacts is being met. This week’s TipSheet explains, in a look-ahead to environmental justice stories making the news, the many forms the problem takes, the many communities affected and the emerging notion of “climate justice.”
"California's building codes are not keeping up with the severe, wind-driven wildfires that are becoming the norm."
"In both subtle and obvious ways, President Trump has reshaped the Republican party in his image ever since taking office. Following a major government climate report delineating the danger facing the United States from rising temperatures, it is clear the rest of the GOP is striking an increasingly Trump-like tone on the issue of climate change ...."
"The number of people listed as missing after California’s deadliest wildfire has dropped again to 25, down from a high of more than 1,200 about two weeks ago, officials said."
"Six months after flood waters swept through this small B.C. city, at least 28 downtown businesses are still closed. Many locals and forestry experts are blaming rampant clearcutting for reducing nature's ability to protect residents from the hell of high waters, but the province insists all is well in the forests of southern British Columbia".
With flooding from hurricanes and other climate disasters becoming the new normal, badly needed flood insurance reform continues to founder in the halls of Congress. The National Flood Insurance Program is billions of dollars in debt, and aid packages are doing little to get people out of flood-prone areas. Congress watchers will keep an eye on new House leadership for insurance solutions, although politically unpalatable rate hikes swamped the big reform. This week’s TipSheet has more on the story, with leads on what to watch in 2019.
"The Croda chemical plant at Atlas Point on the Delaware River, which was recently expanded by its British owners to produce two tons of hazardous ethylene oxide per hour so the material didn't have to be shipped from Texas by rail, was shut down due to a leak on Sunday afternoon, stopping holiday traffic on I-295 over the Delaware Memorial Bridge and jamming drivers on the direct routes between New York and Washington, D.C."
"The deadliest wildfire in California history that destroyed the mountain town of Paradise and killed at least 85 people was 100 percent contained on Sunday, according to state fire officials."
"A major scientific report issued by 13 federal agencies on Friday presents the starkest warnings to date of the consequences of climate change for the United States, predicting that if significant steps are not taken to rein in global warming, the damage will knock as much as 10 percent off the size of the American economy by century’s end."
