Hurricane Helene

Hurricanes form over oceans and are fed by warm water, enabling them to intensify. When they come ashore, they weaken. Almost four years ago I wrote about how climate change helps hurricanes last longer once they leave their oceanic incubator. Hurricane Helene is a perfect example. Helene made landfall near Read more…

Orange Rivers

The Brooks Range is a sparsely populated mountain range located north of the Arctic Circle in northern Alaska and northwestern Canada. Named for geologist Alfred Hulse Brooks in 1925, these mountains stretch about 700 miles from west to east. The rugged Dalton Highway, which runs from near Fairbanks to Deadhorse Read more…

A Win Win

What if we could increase marine food sources for people while also fighting climate change and preserving—or even increasing—marine biodiversity?[1] That is what Enric Sala, a marine ecologist, wants to do, and it appears to work. Sala wants to set aside approximately 30 percent of the most biodiverse ocean and Read more…

Why is this happening?

Torrential rains and flooding in Vermont and northern New York State. Out-of-control wildfires in Canada. Scorching temperatures in the American Southwest that exceed 110 degrees and could reach 119 degrees in places. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, from 1980 to 2022 an average of 8.1 weather events Read more…

Killer Bacteria

If you are reasonably healthy and get infected by the bacteria vibrio vulnificus you have an 80% chance of survival—which of course means a 20% of dying from the infection.[1] If you have a weakened immune system, your chances of survival drop to about 50%. But don’t worry, because there Read more…