Hurricane

PR Accuses Hedge Funds Of Trying To Profit Off Hurricanes

September 29, 2017 David Dayen, www.theintercept.com Educate! Hurricane, Natural Disasters, Puerto Rico

By David Dayen for The Intercept - PUERTO RICO HAS rejected a bondholder group’s offer to issue the territory additional debt as a response to the devastation of Hurricane Maria. Officials with Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority said the offer was “not viable” and would harm the island’s ability to recover from the storm. The PREPA (Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority) Bondholder Group made the offer on Wednesday, which included $1 billion in new loans, and a swap of $1 billion in existing bonds for another $850 million bond. These new bonds would have jumped to the front of the line for repayment, and between that increased value and interest payments after the first two years, the bondholders would have likely come out ahead on the deal, despite a nominal $150 million in debt relief. Indeed, the offer was worse in terms of debt relief than one the bondholder group made in April, well before hurricanes destroyed much of the island’s critical infrastructure. Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority suggested that profit motive rather than altruism was the bondholder group’s real goal. “Such offers only distract from the government’s stated focus and create the unfortunate appearance that such offers are being made for the purpose of favorably impacting the trading price of existing debt,” the agency said in a statement.

Hurricane Survivors Occupy Senator McConnell’s Office

September 28, 2017 350.org, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Climate Change, Fossil Fuels, Hurricane

By 350.org. WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, a delegation of survivors of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma occupied Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office on Capitol Hill, demanding he acknowledge the role of climate change and the fossil fuel economy in making these storms worse. The delegation was led by members of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s.) and the New Florida Majority as leaders in their communities fighting for climate justice. These leaders called for action from lawmakers at the scale of the climate crisis, including a commitment to 100% clean energy, stopping new fossil fuel projects, and a just and equitable energy transformation.

After The Hurricane, Solar Sped Recovery For Some

September 19, 2017 Lyndsey Gilpin, www.insideclimatenews.org Educate! Florida, Hurricane, New Economy, Solar Energy

By Lyndsey Gilpin for Inside Climate News - Just after midnight on Sept. 11, Eugenio Pereira awoke to the sound of tropical-storm-force winds slamming his Gainesville, Florida, home. Hurricane Irma had arrived. At 1:45 a.m., the power flickered out, and he was in total darkness. Unlike large swaths of Florida that were facing days if not weeks without electricity, Pereira knew he would have power when the sun rose. He had installed rooftop solar panels two weeks before the storm, along with an inverter that allows him to use power from the solar panels without being connected to the grid. The next morning, he plugged an extension cord into the inverter, flipped it on, and let his 7-kilowatt rooftop solar array do the rest. He was able to use his appliances and his Wi-Fi, so he could continue his work as a home-based IT consultant while the neighborhood waited for grid power to came back on. "We didn't have sun at all the day after the hurricane, but even with clouds, it was enough," he said. Hurricane Irma cut the power to about 6.7 million customers across Florida, as well as hundreds of thousands in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Only about two-thirds of those in Florida had power back by Thursday, and Florida Power & Light said the outages could last weeks in some areas.

Pope Calls Out Climate Deniers In Wake Of Hurricanes

September 13, 2017 Marianne Lavelle, www.insideclimatenews.org Resist! Climate Change, Hurricane, Natural Disasters, Pope

By Marianne Lavelle for Inside Climate News - With the lives of Texans and Floridians upended by back-to-back superstorms, one thing hasn't been shaken: climate change denial. Hurricane Harvey, which broke the continental U.S. rainfall record with its deluge of southeast Texas, and Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded, epitomize the consensus science warnings of heightened risks in a warming world. The last peer-reviewed National Climate Assessment, in 2014, highlighted extreme precipitation and the increasing intensity of Atlantic hurricanes as looming perils for the United States. In the wake of the storms, Pope Francis and other leaders urged officials who deny the reality of climate change to open their eyes. "You can see the effects of climate change with your own eyes, and scientists tell us clearly the way forward," Pope Francis said Monday, stressing that leaders have a "moral responsiblity" to act. But "when you don't want to see, you don't see," he said. "History will judge those decisions." Miami's Republican mayor also called on President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to acknowledge the role of climate change, saying "If this isn't climate change, I don't know what is.

Damage From Hurricanes Add To Costs Of Climate Change

September 12, 2017 Georgina Gustin, www.insideclimatenews.org Educate! Climate Change, Hurricane, Natural Disasters

By Georgina Gustin for Inside Climate Change - First Harvey, then Irma, and the hurricane season isn't over. This is the year that repeated, dire predictions about the fiscal risks of climate change—its increasingly heavy burden on the federal budget—are coming true. The hurricanes' successive blows may cost taxpayers more than they spent on relief and recovery in any previous year. And that doesn't factor in the price for this year's other disasters—heat waves, droughts, fires and floods—that are among the hallmarks of global warming. "The magnitude of the damage is getting bigger," said Adam Rose, a research professor with the University of Southern California's Price School of Public Policy and an expert in the economics of natural disasters. "What does it mean for the federal treasury? It means we're likely to see a greater burden on federal and state governments to help people. You can't just leave people who've suffered a disaster. You can't abandon them." For the past decade, the government's fiscal watchdogs have warned that these costs were bound to increase as the effects of climate change arrive.

As Hurricanes Irma And Harvey Slam The U.S., Climate Deniers Remain Steadfast

September 9, 2017 Marianne Lavelle, www.insideclimatenews.org Educate! Climate Change, Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Natural Disasters

By Marianne Lavelle for Inside Climate News - With the lives of Texans and Floridians upended by back-to-back superstorms, one thing hasn't been shaken: climate change denial. Hurricane Harvey, which broke the continental U.S. rainfall record with its deluge of southeast Texas, and Hurricane Irma, barreling toward South Florida as one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded, epitomize the consensus science warnings of heightened risks in a warming world. The last peer-reviewed National Climate Assessment, in 2014, highlighted extreme precipitation and the increasing intensity of Atlantic hurricanes as looming perils for the United States. But steadfast opponents of action on global warming are either sticking to their guns or avoiding comment, while Trump administration officials declare it inappropriate to discuss climate amid tragedy. Texas politicians have been particularly silent on climate change's tie to the storm that ravaged their state. InsideClimate News received no response from Texas' two senators, Republicans Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, or from Congressmen representing districts on the southeast coast that were affected by Harvey.

6 Questions On Hurricane Irma, Harvey And Climate Change

September 8, 2017 Sabrina Shankman, www.insideclimatenews.org Educate! Climate Change, Hurricane, Natural Disasters

By Sabrina Shankman for Inside Climate News - A third of the way into the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA looked at the ocean and air temperatures and issued an ominous new forecast: the region would likely experience "an above normal hurricane season" that "could be extremely active," with more named storms than previously expected—14 to 19 this season—and two to five major hurricanes. Now, halfway through the season, Hurricane Harvey's destruction stretches along the Texas coast, and Hurricane Irma looks likely to make landfall in Florida after causing mass destruction in the Caribbean. Just a few days behind Irma, Hurricane Jose appears to be following the same deadly path, while Hurricane Katia churns off Mexico's eastern coast. As global temperatures continue to rise, climate scientists have said this is what we should expect—more huge storms, with drastic impacts. Though scientists are still wrestling with some of the specifics of how climate change is impacting hurricanes, a lot is known, including the fact that hurricane seasons like this one could be the new norm.

Climate Criminals Like ExxonMobil Should Pay For Hurricane Destruction

September 8, 2017 Jake Johnson, www.commondreams.org Create! Climate Change, Exxon, Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey

By Jake Johnson for Common Dreams - According to a "landmark" study published in the journal Climatic Change on Thursday, the answer is clear: Big Oil. "We know that the costs of both hurricanes will be enormous and that climate change will have made them far larger than they would have been otherwise," write Peter Frumhoff and Myles Allen, two of the study's co-authors, in a piece for the Guardian. The research also shows, they note, that massive oil companies have disproportionately contributed to rising sea levels and soaring levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide while deceiving the public about the costs of their business practices. "Strikingly, nearly 30 percent of the rise in global sea level between 1880 and 2010 resulted from emissions traced to the 90 largest carbon producers," their study found. "More than six percent of the rise in global sea level resulted from emissions traced to ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP, the three largest contributors." The study also found that "the 90 largest carbon producers contributed approximately 57 percent of the observed rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide, nearly 50 percent of the rise in global average temperature."

The Bigger Disasters After Natural Disasters

September 8, 2017 Eleanor Goldfield, www.occupy.com Educate! Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Natural Disasters, Occupy

By Eleanor Goldfield for Occupy - The storm Hurricane Harvey may be over but the aftermath is just beginning. Letting history be our guide, we take a look at the capitalist machine that not only pulls protection against the worst storms but through shock doctrine moves orchestrates an aftermath that far overshadows the natural disaster that came before. With 12 years distance from Hurricane Katrina, we can see the trajectory that our government’s continued failings might take in Houston and the surrounding areas. On the flip side, we take a look at those filling the gaping chasms left by the system - the people on the ground, spearheading community aid and relief efforts. And guess what: very often, they’re the same people demonized in the media for punching fascists.

Protest Outside Of Rex Tillerson’s House Over Hurricane Harvey

September 7, 2017 Anthony Torres, www.alternet.org Resist! Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Protests, Rex Tillerson, Trump Administration

By Anthony Torres for AlterNet - Wednesday night, I joined dozens of D.C. residents for a vigil of mourning and reckoning outside the D.C. residence of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former ExxonMobil CEO. We mourned for our sisters and brothers in Texas, Bangladesh, Mumbai and Sierra Leone drowning in their homes. We leveraged our resources to raise funds for the community organizations that will sustain the organizing needed for just and equitable recoveries. As we mourned, we also condemned those responsible for these human catastrophes: the oil barons and politicians who profit off of climate disaster. We gathered just before sunset at a neighborhood park in Kalorama, one of D.C.’s most exclusive neighborhoods, home of Ivanka Trump, President Obama and Rex Tillerson. Led by local leaders from Sunrise Movement, Hip Hop Caucus, Rising Hearts Coalition, 350 DC, Interfaith Power and Light and more, we marched in song, hand in hand, toward Rex’s multimillion-dollar residence. Upon arriving, we lit our candles and raised them toward the building to shine a light through this dark hour. While we stood in prayer, nearly a dozen police stood between us and his front door...

As Arkema Plant Burns, 6 Things We Know About Petrochemical Risks

September 5, 2017 Gretchen Goldman, www.blog.ucsusa.org Educate! Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Oil and Gas, Oil Spill

By Gretchen Goldman for USCUSA - As Harvey continues to wreak havoc in the Southeast, one issue is starting to emerge as a growing threat to public health and safety: Houston’s vast oil, gas, and chemical production landscape. We’ve already seen accidental releases of chemicals at facilities owned by ExxonMobil, Chevron, and others. Now we are seeing explosions at Arkema’s Crosby facility 20 miles northeast of Houston, due to power failures and flooding. And there remains a threat of additional explosions. There is no reason to believe the Crosby facility is the only one at risk of chemical disasters right now. The coast of southeast Texas and Louisiana has a whole lot of petrochemical production—infrastructure that was exactly in the path of Hurricane Harvey and continues to be hit by its remnants. I’ve studied (and been worried about) chemical safety, sea level rise, and storm surge riskto oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf for several years, and many of those fears are now playing out. Here are some things we know about petrochemical production in the Gulf, its storm risks, who’s impacted, and who’s responsible.

Why Are The Crucial Questions About Hurricane Harvey Not Being Asked?

September 2, 2017 George Monbiot, www.theguardian.com Educate! Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Natural Disasters, Texas

By George Monbiot for The Guardian - This is a manmade climate-related disaster. To ignore this ensures our greatest challenge goes unanswered and helps push the world towards catastrophe. It is not only Donald Trump’s government that censors the discussion of climate change; it is the entire body of polite opinion. This is why, though the links are clear and obvious, most reports on Hurricane Harvey have made no mention of the human contribution to it. In 2016 the US elected a president who believes that human-driven global warming is a hoax. It was the hottest year on record, in which the US was hammered by a series of climate-related disasters. Yet the total combined coverage for the entire year on the evening and Sunday news programmes on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News amounted to 50 minutes. Our greatest predicament, the issue that will define our lives, has been blotted from the public’s mind. This is not an accident. But nor (with the exception of Fox News) is it likely to be a matter of policy. It reflects a deeply ingrained and scarcely conscious self-censorship. Reporters and editors ignore the subject because they have an instinct for avoiding trouble.

Hurricane Harvey, Climate Change Denialists And The Right

September 1, 2017 Joshua Frank, www.counterpunch.org Educate! Climate Change, Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Natural Disasters

By Joshua Frank for Counter Punch - What does Coulter believe then? That Harvey is nothing new? Actually, it is, no matter what Coulter tweets. Harvey is now the heaviest rainstorm in US history and was made worse by our warming climate. There’s little scientific doubt about it. As climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe and many others point out, as the world warms, evaporation of water increases, which means there is more water vapor in storms and more rain to dump compared to 70 years ago. In basic terms, warmer air is able to hold more water and hence more rainfall is likely to occur. Hurricane intensity in the future is predicted to increase as our climate warms. The Gulf of Mexico’s surface temp increased almost 5 degreesFahrenheit as Harvey was building last week. These waters, one of the warmest ocean surfaces on the planet at the time, along with warmer air temps, allowed Harvey to turn from a tropical storm into a cat 4 hurricane almost overnight. Even Coulter’s God couldn’t stop it. Coulter and her fans probably wouldn’t want the floods to dry up anyway, because when crisis hits there is money to be made and victims to rip off. As Ken Klippenstein first reported, a Best Buy in Cypress, an unincorporated suburb of Houston in Harris County, began selling packs of bottled water for $42.96.

Can The Politicians Heed The Lessons Of Hurricane Harvey?

August 31, 2017 Ralph Nader, www.blog.nader.org Create! Houston, Hurricane, Natural Disasters, Politics, Taxes

By Ralph Nader of The Nader Page - Hovering Hurricane Harvey, loaded and reloading with trillions of gallons of water raining down on the greater Houston region—ironically the hub of the petroleum refining industry—is an unfolding, off the charts tragedy for millions of people. Many of those most affected are minorities and low-income families with no homes, health care or jobs to look forward to once the waters recede. Will this tragedy teach us the lessons that so many politicians and impulsive voters have been denying for so long? The first lesson is that America must come home: we must end the Empire of Militarism and of playing the role of policeman of the planet. Both of these habitual roles are backfiring and depleting trillions of taxpayer dollars that could be better used toward rebuilding our country’s infrastructure, strengthening our catastrophe-response networks and preparing for the coming megastorms like Hurricane Harvey. A projected trillion dollars being spent by Obama, and now Trump, just to upgrade nuclear weapons will only spur another arms race with Russia and China. This money could be more productively spent protecting Americans from immediate threats, such as natural disasters from man-made climate change.

Louisiana’s “Cajun Navy” Just Arrived In Texas To Rescue People From Floods

August 30, 2017 Carey Wedler, www.activistpost.com Create! Aid, Hurricane, Natural Disasters, Texas

By Carey Wedler for Activist Post - Though FEMA plans to play a large role in disaster relief efforts as Hurricane Harvey continues to inundate Texas, a volunteer group is stepping in to help their fellow humans — and it’s not the first time they’ve taken action. The Cajun Navy first came into existence with 30 people and 23 rescue vessels during Hurricane Katrina and grew even larger amid severe flooding in Louisiana in 2016. The Guardian reported that last year — using social media — the group of hunters and fishermen were able to locate stranded residents and rescue them with their boats. Their missions were all the more vital amid the government’s failure to adequately take care of victims and provide housing and relief. For example, Julie Ralph of St. Francisville, Louisiana, turned to Amazon, creating a page to accept donations of basic supplies. Ralph said that as the floodwaters cleared and rescue operations turned into recovery operations, the Cajun Navy became the Cajun Army. As she said last September: As it stands, the boots on the ground are the Cajun Army, and anyone who can be summoned through Facebook or Twitter by people sharing how bad things are to get people to come over and help.

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