7.2 Earthquake off coast of Indonesia

A 7.2 earthquake was reported by the U.S Geological Survey off the coast of Indonesia. The quake was 96 miles deep, too deep to cause a tsunami in the Indian Ocean.




http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/asia_pacific/view/2012121072-magnitude_earthquake_reported_off_indonesia/srvc=news&position=recent_bullet
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/10/72-quake-hits-off-coast-indonesia/

Cheatgrass making wildfires worse

Cheatgrass thrives in arid climates and grows as high as a horses knee. A major problem that comes with the growth of cheatgrass is that it burns a lot. It grows fast in spring and spreads out between native plants. By summer the grass has died and becomes a serious fire hazard.
Jennifer Blanch studies fires says that cheatgrass doubles the chance of fire in the Great Basin. When the grass dies it becomes a blanket of fuel. Ways to try and prevent fire from spreading would be to plant vegetation around the cheatgrass that is less flammable. They also mention a fungus called "black fingers of death" that kills cheatgrass, but what it could do with other plants could be a big risk if it's introduced to the area.



http://www.npr.org/2012/12/05/166574589/in-arid-west-cheatgrass-turns-fires-into-infernos

7.3 Earthquake in Japan

The northeast coast of Japan was hit with a 7.3 earthquake Friday. The earthquake resulted in a one meter (three foot) tsunami. Last year this same area was hit with a much larger earthquake and tsunami that caused a nucular crisis and killed thousands. This earthquake was farther out to sea, about 22 miles from Tokyo.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/07/world/asia/japan-earthquake/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Earthquake in Guatemala

On Wednesday a 7.4 earthquake was reported 15 miles offshore of Guatemala. So far the death toll is at 45 people. The earthquake caused landslides. These landslides have cut off highways in the western portion of the country. It is expected to take 24 hours to get roads ready for travel, until then citizens are encouraged not to travel and avoid tall buildings.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/photos-earthquake-rocks-guatem/1236750

Brutus... Snow in West and Midwest

In the western portion of the country, winter storm Brutus is brewing.

With this storm there will be snow and wind on the cold side and a warm sector with potential sever weather.
Currently there is a strong low pressure system over the Rockies and a strong high pressure zone in Canada. These two coming together will create wind driven snow.
Montana is expected to get hit with the worst of it. There are already blizzard warnings going through Saturday. Parts of Montana and North Dakota are expected to get over a foot of snow.

Into the weekend, the storm will move into the Plains and Midwestern states. As it does this it will come in contact with warm air coming from the Gulf of Mexico. The cold front going into the warm air will create a lot of energy in the upper atmosphere. This then has the potential for severe thunderstorms stretching from Minneapolis to Dallas.

This storm is something to keep an eye on because it could be affecting us here in Wisconsin. We could be receiving some thunderstorms with damaging winds.

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/winter-storm-brutus-snow-blizzard

Huge plugs could have spared subway flooding...

The federal government is creating inflatable plugs to protect subway tunnels from terrorist attacks. The cool thing about these plugs is that they could also be used to protect the subways from flooding during natural disasters.
In January a plug was successfully tested by the Department of Homeland Security using pressurized water. Another test is scheduled for next week for the Resilient Tunnel Project.
Only one plug has been manufactured so far and it will be a couple years before the product is ready to be marketed to the nation's transit and highway authorities.
Greg Holter of the Pacific Northwest National Labority said "If we would have had these things installed in the right places (New York), they could have made a terrific difference. The problem is we don't have a stock of things that we could put in place. It's not like we have a bunch of these sitting in a warehouse. It's a little frustrating really that we weren't at a better stage at this thing."
The plugs are like inflatable balloons that fit to the shape of the tunnel. Team members working on the project say these plugs could have prevented flooding in some tunnels under New York's East River, but not in the porous subway stations. Plug would be made to fit the specific dimensions of the tunnels with the ability to expand or contrast at less than 1%. It is estimated to be cheaper than installing floodgates at $400,000 and with the possibility of being cheaper if manufactured in quantities.
This new technology could be part of future security and prevention.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/31/us/new-york-subway-plugs/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
There is a video on the webpage that shows the plug being inflated.

Food Distribution Disrupted by Sandy

"Thousands of truckloads of food that were headed for stores in the Northeast are stuck on roadsides and in warehouses following the crippling blow Hurricane Sandy dealt to the nation's food distribution system."

Hurricane Sandy has halted the distribution of food to affected areas, but no one is concerned about major short-term food shortages.
One main issue is that businesses are out of power and have not reopened their doors. Preparations made before the storm have many grocery stores and warehouses stocked with a couple weeks worth of food, these places are equipped with back up generators. Ed Chouinard of Perishable Distribution Solutions (PDS) says "...people don't shop much for food if they've got no power. There's more likely to be a surge in demand when the power comes back on, because then everyone is restocking. But there wont be a shortage."
97 grocery stores were forced to close in New Jersey and now some have reopened and according to one New Jersey resident they were stocked with firewood and ice, along with food.
Charles Wilson, VP of corporate communications at Sysco, said they worked prior to the storm to make sure their clients had enough supplies in advance, until they could get back on the roads. He also said they have been working with disaster relief agencies to make sure we are one of the first responders and we're ready to go back in as soon as it's safe."
Prolonged power outages are a problem for perishable foods and the spread of food born illnesses. Making sure food is kept cold enough so bacteria does not spread is important for stores, businesses, and individuals.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/hurricane-sandy-disrupts-food-distribution_n_2049778.html?1351703911

Hurricane Sandy and Mitt Romney's FEMA Problem

During the primary elections Mitt Romney made comments about cutting funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and now with Hurricane Sandy he has been dodging questions about his previous comment. Romney was quoted as saying
"Every time you have an occasion to take something from the Federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that's even better"

Hurricane Sandy has shown why having the federal government help is important in massive disasters that cover many states. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, on the Today show said "The federal government's response has been great. I was on the phone at midnight again last night with the president, personally; he has expedited the designation of New Jersey as a major disaster area ... the president has been outstanding in this. The folks at FEMA, Chris Fugate, and his folks have been excellent."
The federal government is doing their job to help out states and citizens at a time when they need it. Romney has said it's immoral to have disaster relief, but that just doesn't work. Citizens should be able to rely on their governments to get back on their feet.

In 2013 tax cuts will expire and there will be automatic spending cuts made to almost all programs, including FEMA. Congress' inability to reach an agreement threatens the impacts of disaster relief.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/30/hurricane-sandy-exposes-mitt-romney-s-self-made-fema-problem.html

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/10/30/pmt-chris-christie-barack-obama.cnn

High Waves.. Surfing in Chicago

Winds from superstorm Sandy reached out hundreds of miles to Chicago causing near-record high waves on Lake Michigan. These waves sent a few brave surfers out into the cold waters despite warnings from city officials. The waves were getting up to 20 feet high, coming close to the 23 foot record. The National Weather Service said winds were blasting up to 54 mph in the area. The waves brought some fun for the surfers, but cargo ships were brought to a standstill and took refuge in harbors.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/winds-from-outer-edge-of-superstorm-sandy-mean-near-record-high-waves-good-surfing-in-chicago/2012/10/30/d079f6f4-22cd-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html

Japan Phase Out Nuclear Power Plants

Japan Sets Policy to Phase Out Nuclear Power Plants by 2040
September 14, 2012

By the year 2040 Japan plans to phase out the use of nuclear power plants. Before last years nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Japan used the reactors for 30 percent of their electrical energy with plans to increase the amount. Now, the government is deciding if they should close all the plants or keep some open to provide for a smaller amount of the country's electrical needs.

It is unclear what shutting down the plants would do to the country that is already limited in its resources. Political and business leaders fear it will cause the country to have higher energy prices and put them in more economic weakness. Even though many express their knowledge of what could economically could happen to Japan there is still wide support for the antinuclear movement.

The new strategy proposed by the government is said to be too vague and drawn out as well as unrealistic and unreachable. If there are reactors under construction those could possibly be exempt from the 2040 deadline and still be used up into the 2070's which would cause some challenges for the phase out plan.

If the reactors that are currently idle are closed down power companies would expect losses up to $55.9 billion. Japan could not afford for those companies to go bankrupt. They are already struggling to keep up with the energy demands and had to ask citizens to conserve energy. Increase in energy costs would hurt their economy and possibly cause businesses to go overseas.

Phasing out nuclear power plants will make Japan be more dependent on oil and natural gas imports.

It is becoming increasingly more important for cleaner energy sources to be available as well as for countries to be able to be independent in their energy sources.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/world/asia/japan-will-try-to-halt-nuclear-power-by-the-end-of-the-2030s.html?_r=1&ref=earth

Arctic Ice Melt

Arctic ice melting at 'amazing' speed, scientists find

7 September 2012

In recent years it has become more well known that ice in the Arctic is melting at a fast pace. This summer the ice reached its lowest level in over 30 years. The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) is the leader in the research for the region and says the ice is melting faster than expected. Since the ice is disappearing more rapidly than expected Dr Kim Holmen says “…we must adjust our understanding of the system and we must adjust our science and we must adjust our feelings for the nature around us." Dr Edmond Hansen mentions that by just looking at the graphs, the observations, you can see the ice melt is accelerating. 

Different techniques are being used to monitor the ice melt. Most data comes from satellites. Other information used is collected by an icebreaker, Lance, that monitors the main route for the ice out of the Arctic Ocean. Another device is the EM-Bird, a torpedo shaped instrument flown above ice used to collect data about the difference in the level of seawater beneath the ice and the surface of the ice. 

Ice has a reflective whiteness which sends radiation from the sun back into space. As the ice thins more light is absorbed and as it vanishes the oceans will increasingly absorb more heat.

Research has suggested that the reduction in sea ice will have an effect on the jet stream and high altitude wind that guides weather systems and storms. The changes will influence precipitation patterns, possibly increasing rainfall in northern Europe and southern Europe could be drier.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19508906

Since research is still in its early stages the topic of melting Arctic sea ice is interesting to me because new findings will be emerging and greater advances in technology will be happening to better understand the processes of the yearly melt and what the future holds.