Infrastructure

Climate Resiliency — When a Disaster Becomes a Cascade

It sometimes feels like journalists lurch from one catastrophe (or hurricane, flood, wildfire, heat wave) to the next. But that can mean missing the bigger story: Disasters, increasingly linked to climate extremes, are often interlocking events, in which one system failure causes the next and the next. The latest Backgrounder explores three case studies, and how news media can focus attention on steps toward resilience.

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How Climate Attribution Science Went Mainstream, and What It Means

A growing body of research shows the links between global warming and extreme weather. And that knowledge can help communities prepare, and assign responsibility for damages. Veteran climate journalist Bob Berwyn lays out the science of climate attribution — for heat waves, flooding, wildfires and, ironically, crop-killing freezes — and discusses its implications for future climate change policy.

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"Manchin Clashes With Fellow Democrats Over Fossil-Fuel Demands"

"Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is insisting that natural gas be allowed to have a central role in President Biden’s clean energy agenda, which puts him on a collision course with Democratic lawmakers who worry he will have the power to water down what they see as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address climate change."

Source: The Hill, 10/04/2021

"China’s Power Cuts Shut Down Factories, Fuel Climate Goal Pushback"

"Last Friday, the lights went out across northeast China. Cars piled up at intersections under blacked-out stoplights. Residents took to social media to complain about needing to walk up dozens of flights of stairs to get home. Sales of candles increased tenfold, according to state media."

Source: Washington Post, 09/30/2021

"Enbridge: Line 3 Replacement Complete; Oil Will Flow Friday"

"Enbridge announced Wednesday that construction on the upgrade of its Line 3 crude oil pipeline across Minnesota is “substantially complete” and that the company will start filling it with oil later this week."

Source: AP, 09/30/2021

Canadian Dam Owner Sues Maine Over Effort To Remove 4 Kennebec Dams

"The Canadian conglomerate that owns most of the dams in Maine has sued the state over the high-stakes battle over the future of four dams on the lower section of the Kennebec River and the survival of Atlantic salmon in the United States."

Source: Portland Press Herald, 09/29/2021

"See the Dozens of Offshore Oil Spills Caused by Hurricane Ida"

"When Hurricane Ida barreled into the Louisiana coast with near 150 mile-per-hour winds on Aug. 30, it left a trail of destruction. The storm also triggered the most oil spills detected from space after a weather event in the Gulf of Mexico since the federal government started using satellites to track spills and leaks a decade ago."

Source: NYTimes, 09/27/2021

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