Tag Archives: climate change

Major Malibu Wildfire Threatens Pepperdine University

The Associated Press reports: Firefighters battled a wildfire early Tuesday in Malibu that prompted evacuations near Pepperdine University, where students sheltering at the school’s library watched as the fire intensified and the sky turn deep red. “Just seeing the flames grow and seeing that bright red color of fire just get brighter and brighter and brighter — it was so …

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Red State AGs Sue Investors Over Climate Change

Axios reports: Three of the biggest investment firms in the world were sued by 11 states last week, in a case that not only could transform the way trillions of dollars is managed, but could also hobble global efforts to transition to a sustainable level of carbon emissions. Texas AG Ken Paxton, along with 10 of his colleagues, is attempting …

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WSJ: Republicans Want To Keep Biden’s Climate Law

The Wall Street Journal reports: Donald Trump’s campaign-trail vow to end President Biden’s signature climate law is running into a cold reality: Too many Republican lawmakers want to keep it. The Inflation Reduction Act has channeled billions of dollars to renewable-energy projects across the country, with Republican-led states getting the lion’s share of the funding. Even though not a single …

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REPORT: Exxon Lobbyist Hacked Emails Of Activists

Reuters reports: The FBI has been investigating a longtime Exxon Mobil consultant over the contractor’s alleged role in a hack-and-leak operation that targeted hundreds of the oil company’s biggest critics, according to three people familiar with the matter. The operation involved mercenary hackers who successfully breached the email accounts of environmental activists and others, the sources told Reuters. Some environmental …

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Trump Names Climate Change Denier As Energy Sec

The Associated Press reports: President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday named Chris Wright, head of a Denver-based oilfield service company who has disputed the role of climate change in causing extreme weather, to head the Energy Department. Wright, a major Republican fundraiser, would be one of the loudest voices in the administration against the confirmed science that greenhouse gas emissions are …

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Extreme Weather Events Cost $2T Over Last Decade

CNN reports: Last month, two major storms, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, caused a total of between $51.5 billion and $81.5 billion of property damage, mostly to Southeastern US states, according to estimates from CoreLogic. That’s a lot of damage – but it’s only a small fraction of what climate change has cost people around the world. A new report …

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Forecasters Eye Potential Late Season Hurricane

The Pensacola News-Journal reports: The National Hurricane Center has increased the chances of a tropical disturbance furthering development in the southwestern Caribbean Sea over the next seven days. A tropical depression could develop over the weekend or early next week as the system drifts into the central or western Caribbean, where conditions will likely be conducive for further strengthening. Tropical …

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Hurricane Oscar: Record 8th Named Storm In 30 Days

USA Today reports: A storm system in the Caribbean rapidly escalated Saturday from a tropical storm into Hurricane Oscar, the 10th hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. Forecasters said Oscar’s winds were much stronger than previously thought and declared the system a hurricane at 2 p.m. ET. Oscar’s maximum sustained winds were about 80 mph with stronger gusts, which …

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Census Data Shows Migration To Florida Is Plummeting

Via press release from the AARP: Recent statistics reveal concerning shifts in migration patterns, and since this data reflects 2023, it predates the peak of the property insurance crisis, the recent challenges posed by new homeowner association rules, the aftermath of two major hurricanes and the rising cost of housing in our state. In 2023, the Census reports, Florida’s net …

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FL Sees Rash Of Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases, Deaths

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Flesh-eating bacteria cases have surged in the last few weeks since Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton swept through, according to data from the Florida Department of Health. Vibrio vulnificusa, a naturally occurring but potentially fatal bacterial infection, thrives in warm floodwaters when hurricanes and tropical storms push brackish water along the coast and into rivers and …

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NBC: Florida Homeowners Face Insurance Nightmare

NBC News reports: Fresh off the one-two punch of Helene and Milton, hurricane victims in Florida — even those with insurance — face a challenging recovery. The insurance industry is categorizing the storms as two separate events, meaning anyone who did not or could not document damage from Helene could face even greater odds that their claim will be denied …

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1.5 Million Florida Households Still Without Power

Florida Politics reports: More than 1.5 million remain without power almost three days after feeling the first effects of Hurricane Milton. Most major utility providers have now provided timelines for when service should come back online. Outages include more than 581,000 Duke Energy customers, almost 428,000 Florida Power & Light (FPL) accounts and more than 420,000 Tampa Electric Company (TECO) …

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Scientists: Yes, Climate Change Made Milton Worse

Reuters reports: The brutal wind and torrential rainfall of Hurricane Milton that killed 16 people in Florida this week were worsened by human-caused climate change, a team of international scientists said on Friday. Global warming made wind speeds around 10% stronger and rainfall greater by between 20% and 30%, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution. Previous scientific analyses …

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DeSantis: Government Has No Right To Stop People From Rebuilding In Areas Highly Prone To Flooding

“People had their property. They have a right to do with what they want to do with it. And it is tough when you have two back-to-back storms. No question. “The reality is people work their whole lives and work hard to be able to live in environments that are really, really nice. “And they have a right to make …

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Millions In FL Still Without Power In Wake Of Milton

USA Today reports: As of Friday morning, 2.2 million Floridians were still without power, according to the USA TODAY power outage tracker. The west-central coast continues to be the hardest hit, with 483,225 residents in Hillsborough County and another 460,544 in Pinellas County still in the dark. In Pasco County, 113,745 power outages were reported. Further south, 152,471 residents in …

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DeSantis: Climate Change Had Nothing Do With Milton

Florida Politics reports: Despite the massive onslaught of tornadoes from this late-season storm, DeSantis noted that it is “kind of normal” with each storm and “to be expected” that with “every hurricane we have a lot of tornadoes spun off,” as “things churn off with these weather systems.” And climate change or global warming? Nothing to do with it, said …

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Milton Moves Into Atlantic, Millions Without Power

CNN reports: The eye of Hurricane Milton, which traveled overnight from near the Tampa Bay area east toward Orlando and Cape Canaveral, is now moving past the Florida peninsula and exiting the east coast, according to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. But the storm – currently a Category 1 hurricane – is still slamming parts of the coast with onshore …

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Florida Hit With Multiple Tornadoes As Milton Nears

The Weather Channel reports: H​urricane Milton will make landfall in Florida tonight into early Thursday where it poses a major threat to life and property as it hammers the state with destructive storm surge, devastating wind damage, potentially catastrophic flooding rainfall and several tornadoes. Bands of heavy rain containing strong wind gusts are spreading across parts of the state well …

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Milton Forecast To Make Landfall Around 2AM Tonight

The Weather Channel reports: H​urricane Milton will make landfall in Florida tonight into early Thursday where it poses a major threat to life and property as it hammers the state with destructive storm surge, devastating wind damage, potentially catastrophic flooding rainfall and several tornadoes. “The track of Hurricane Milton continues to be a worst-case scenario for the Tampa Bay region …

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Florida Officials: If You Don’t Intend To Evacuate, Write Your Name On Your Bodies So Families Can Be Notified

Mediaite reports: Florida officials are telling residents who don’t intend to evacuate from the areas expected to be hit hardest by Hurricane Milton to write their names and the phone number of a family member on themselves so their bodies can be identified and their families find out about their deaths, according to CNN’s Paul Murphy. In an appearance on …

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