Related Posts
Tropical storms hit both Asia and US
Tropical storms are battering two parts of the world at present: the east coast of the United States...
Breaking News: Central America Hit by Tropical Storms and Volcano EruptionsHurricane season is officially here: 16 people in Central America were killed by tropical storm Agatha.
The storm...
Northeastern US Snow Storms Linked to Climate Change
Those of us who live on (or near) the northeastern side of the US were hit by a...
Breaking: Deadly storms wreak havoc in Europe
Storms in Europe caused at least 58 deaths over the weekend. Most of the deaths occurred in France,...
Storms and floods bring death and chaos to central Mexico
Unseasonal winter weather in Mexico has caused widespread flooding resulting in death and destruction in the states of...
Tip of the Day
Go grocery shopping locally to help reduce your carbon footprint
Tropical storms batter DC
photo by woodleywonderworks (Flickr CC)
Hurricane force storms ripped through parts of the United States this past Friday, felling hundreds of trees, causing several deaths and resulting in large scale power outages in the Washington, DC capital region of the United States.
In the hours following the storms some 1.5 million were without electricity in the DC area, with as many as 3 million on the eastern seaboard. Temperatures soared as high as 105F (40.5C) in some places.
The storms began on Friday evening following a day of record-setting temperatures, shattering the previous record set nearly 80 years ago. A temperature of 104F (40C) was recorded at Washington Reagan Airport, better known to those of us who grew up in the DC area as “National Airport”.
Winds were clocked at 60-90mph (95-145kph).
From the Washington Post:
The vast crescent of storms that swept across the Appalachians into the region on Friday night killed at least five people in the Washington region, with a total of at least 17 deaths in a swath of mid-Atlantic states reaching from New Jersey to Kentucky and as far west as Ohio.
For details of the storm and footage of the aftermath see the below video report from Al Jazeera English.
Tags: DC, storms, temperature, Washington
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Britain’s ‘pretty’ insects need help!
Butterflies in the UK are on the decline due to human activity and now the British public is being urged to participate in a nationwide survey called The Big Butterfly Count. During Save Our Butterflies Week – July 24th to August 1st – residents of the UK are asked to take 15 minutes to go out and count butterflies in cities, parks, forests and fields. But it’s not just because butterflies are pretty insects, they also play valuable roles in ecosystems and...
Teaching Your Kids About the Environment
As many parents know, as soon as children start to talk, they start to ask questions. Studies say that most 4-year-olds ask about an average of 400 questions per day (though they haven’t met my niece, who asks that many questions before breakfast). “Why is the sky blue?” “Why is that flower yellow?” and of course, probably the most asked question when toddlers begin to stretch their limits -“Why NOT?” Yes, children between the ages of 4 to 7 can...
Rachel Maddow on BP’s unbelievably bad safety record
BP has agreed to pay $50.6m (€39.7m) in fines to US government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for failing to rectify safety hazards after a 2005 explosion at a Texas City oil refinery killed 15 workers and injured 170. BP already paid a $21.3m (€16.7m) record breaking fine to OSHA following the deadly 2005 explosion. Besides both fines BP has agreed to set aside $500m to correct safety conditions at the refinery for current workers. From an RTT News report: The settlement...
Gulf Oil Spill Picked Up by Loop Current; Crude Oil Moving Through Wetlands
It’s officially been a month since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and the spill is still not completely contained or even remotely cleaned up. However, after a series of containment and cleanup failures, BP finally has some success with their most recently employed siphoning system, which is removing 3,000 barrels (approximately 126,000 gallons) from the spill per day. Unfortunately, crude oil began spreading through US wetlands yesterday and still poses a threat to the Florida coast, Cuba, and possibly further out...
European supergrid could power UK with foreign green energy
Soon Wales will receive wind energy generated off the coast of Ireland via high voltage cables spanning the bottom of the Irish Sea. There is already a link between the UK and the Netherlands via the BritNed cable and by 2019 a 900km interconnector between Norway and the UK should be completed, supplying energy from a clever pump storage system powered by wind turbines. Another connector between the UK and France is already in existence, with two more proposed, although one...
Gisele Bundchen launches eco-friendly skincare line
Gisele Bundchen is not only one of the highest-paid models in the world, the Brazilian beauty is now also set to launch an eco-friendly skincare line. The 29-year-old supermodel, who gave birth to a baby boy last December, is going to present her eco-friendly product line “Sejaa Pure Skincare” next week. The line of products is said to use all-natural ingredients and to provide eco-friendly packaging and recycled paper. This is not the supermodel's only new project. Soon after she gave...
Study: Methane is Rapidly Leaking Through Holes in Arctic Permafrost
For the longest time, CO2 was considered the main culprit in global warming. Many would pin climate change issues on this particular greenhouse gas. However, it seems another such gas intends to make its presence feared all the same: Methane. This greenhouse gas has been sneaking its way into the atmosphere more rapidly than scientists previously thought; especially in areas of the Arctic Ocean where there is unstable permafrost. An international research team conducted a survey of the East Siberian Arctic...
Bloody animal rights activists protest against fur
Yesterday, as part of the World Day Against the Use of Fur actions, AnimaNaturalis activists paraded wearing fur and with fake blood dripping down their chins to protest against the use of animal furs and leather for clothing. The protest was held outside a prestigious shopping center in Mexico City, not shy of shops selling fur. Winter is the heyday for the fur industry. Every year this industry generated massive profits from the death of millions of furry animals like seals,...
Texas Oil Spill Claimed to be the Worst in Over 15 Years
Yet another oil spill occurred over the weekend, this time off the coast of Texas. Apparently, the incident happened near Port Arthur and involved 2 vessels. One was the Dixie Vengeance, which was towing 2 barges at the time, and the other was the 807-foot tank ship, Eagle Otome. The crash caused at least 450,000 gallons of oil to spill into the ocean. The Coast Guard proceeded to close a waterway, deployed 4,000 feet of boom, and set up boundaries around...
Road freight is unsustainable
Haulage, or the commercial transport of goods by road, aka road freight, is a little discussed, but important environmental issue. The environmental impact of haulage is considered to be significantly higher than freight by rail or sea, due to its heavy production of pollution and greenhouse gasses. The damage and congestion inflicted upon roads is also an expensive burden on infrastructure. Haulers – 'hauliers' in the UK – drive massive trucks called semis, tractor-trailers, 18 wheelers or big rigs in the...
View all articles
You can also log in to post a comment.