Say Goodnight Irene, and Hello to Katia

They're so cute when they're little. Image from source.

Jose, we hardly knew you. Yes, Jose has come and almost gone already, while Irene sputters out. But there's a new one on the horizon already: Katia. Here's hoping she sputters out like Jose, and doesn't give us chapter two in: all hurricane news, all the time.

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New tropical system forming in the Atlantic 

Just as Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a post-tropical system after grazing the East Coast, forecasters say a tropical wave south of the Cape Verde Islands, off Africa’s west coast, has a near 100 percent chance of developing into the next tropical cyclone of the season. If it reaches tropical storm force levels, it would become Katia, the 11th named system of the season. . .

Read more at: Summit County Citizens Voice

Irene Peters Out, On to the Next Disaster!

Don't let 'em tell you nothing bad happened.
Image from source, MSNBC

So last week we had a rare earthquake in Virginia, felt all over the east coast and parts of the Midwest. Next came a powerful hurricane, riding the coastline, and targeted straight for New York and New England. It wasn't as rare as the earthquake, but unusual, just the same. And even though it didn't hit with the force they were predicting, it still wasn't pretty. I just hope that the hype didn't convince New Yorkers and others to ignore the next big storm.
 
Anyway, with all of that mother nature activity, it's unlikely that we're going to see a repeat this week. I just wonder how fast we'll get right back into the usual right vs. left.

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Floods build in US as weakened Irene sloshes into Canada 

As Tropical Storm Irene chugged north into Canada, residents along the battered U.S. East Coast began surveying damage and fretted over the next danger: treacherous flooding. . .

Read more at: MSNBC

Irony of the Day: Climate Change Skeptics Flee Storm

Image from ITN

Here's my take on climate change/global warming: whether you side with the majority of scientists, or the smaller bunch who disagree with them, our use of fossil fuels over the last 120 years or so have caused pollution. Just look at the skies in China, still pretty mucky, even with forced closures of plants and driving restrictions for the Olympics. To say that it is impossible for humans to have any effect on the environment (as Rush Limbaugh does), is lunacy.

But I understand that some are skeptical that we've changed the climate, though I disagree. Still, eliminating or drastically reducing the use of fossil fuels would benefit us, even if it doesn't help the climate. Less smog, less contamination of ground water, of wildlife. Less dependence upon Middle-Eastern oil, all of those are good things, right? And fossil fuels are finite, so finding renewable energy sources would be beneficial in many ways. So, changing the way we use fossil fuels is a good thing, whether it will fix global warming or not.

That's a long way to go to set up this story, which I'm really just posting because I find it funny. . .

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Global warming deniers forced to cancel meeting due to Tropical Storm Fay.

This week, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) planned to have town hall meetings in Ft. Myers and West Palm Beach, FL. As the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson notes, “AFP is a front group for the right-wing pollution company Koch Industries, with an agenda of attacking ‘global warming alarmism‘ and promoting increased offshore drilling.” In an ironic twist, AFP has canceled its meetings because of Tropical Storm Fay. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Batten the Hatches: The Hurricanes Are Coming!

Photo from source, CBS4

Oh, dear. And just in time for the 2008 Presidential election. . .

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Hurricane Forecaster Upgrades Hurricane Prediction

Prediction: 15 Named Storms
8 Hurricanes
4 Major Hurricanes

Famed hurricane forecaster Dr. William Gray has released his updated Atlantic Hurricane Season and has upgraded the predictions released in December. . .

Read more at: CBS4