Saturday, September 29, 2012

No Victims Forgotten, No Communities Left Behind



MISERY AFTER ISAAC
 
HURRICANE ISAAC, TYPHOON BOLAVEN, WILDFIRES, K Leslie Graves Show So You Cannot Sleep Tell Why

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Keeping you abreast: Hurricane Isaac, Typhoon Bolaven, American Drought and Wilfires and more!

Hurricane, Tropical Storm, Typhoons and Wildfires by So You Cannot Sleep Tell Us Why

 
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Isaac Damaged 59,000 Homes in Louisiana


Flooded water surrounds homes after Isaac passed through Plaquemines Parish, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Hurricane Isaac damaged nearly 59,000 homes across southeast Louisiana. That is more than four times the number officials estimated a week after the storm made landfall on Aug. 28.

The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says the most severe damage hit houses and rental units in St. John the Baptist and Plaquemines parishes, where flooding swamped some homes with several feet of water.

The latest estimates are for 46,663 owner-occupied houses and 12,289 rental units.

The damage data comes from door-to-door inspections of more than 120,000 homes done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after people registered for federal aid.

M7.6 - 10km NE of Hojancha, Costa Rica


Event Time

1.        2012-09-05 14:42:10 UTC
2.        2012-09-05 08:42:10 UTC-06:00 at epicenter
3.        2012-09-05 10:42:10 UTC-04:00 system time

Nearby Cities

1.        10km (6mi) NE of Hojancha, Costa Rica
2.        11km (7mi) ESE of Nicoya, Costa Rica
3.        30km (19mi) ESE of Santa Cruz, Costa Rica
4.        44km (27mi) SW of Canas, Costa Rica
5.        140km (87mi) W of San Jose, Costa Rica


Hurricane Isaac Power Outages Remain Across Louisiana (PHOTOS)
NEW ORLEANS — Much of a finger-shaped parish southeast of New Orleans was still covered with floodwater Sunday and more than 200,000 people across Louisiana still didn't have any power, five days after Isaac ravaged the state. Thousands of evacuees remained at shelters or bunked with friends or relatives.

No Water or Power Means Days of Misery for Louisiana
At least six storm-related deaths have been reported
People stand by an intentional levy breach created to alleviate trapped floodwater in Braithwaite, La. on Thursday. (AP)

BELLE CHASE, La. (AP) - Floodwaters from Isaac receded, power came on and businesses opened Friday ahead of the holiday weekend, the beginning of what is certain to be a slow recovery for Louisiana.

Newly-nominated Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited flood-ravaged communities, and President Barack Obama said he would arrive Monday, appearances this part of the country is all too familiar with after Katrina and the Gulf oil spill.

Meanwhile, the leftovers from the storm pushed into the drought-stricken Midwest, knocking out power to thousands of people in Arkansas. At least six people were killed in the storm in Mississippi Louisiana.
 

ST. LOUIS (AP) — When drought made Fourth of July fireworks a fire hazard, organizers in Chesterfield, Mo., decided to try again Labor Day weekend. Go figure: Now rain from the remnants ofHurricane Isaac has forced them to cancel again.
The storm is expected to drop several inches of rain over parts of the Midwest this weekend, and residents are preparing for a soggy holiday with mixed emotions. People in drought-stricken areas have been begging, pleading and praying for rain. But did it have to ruin the end-of-summer party?
"Whoever thought we'd have a hurricane challenge this event again?" city of Chesterfield spokeswoman Libbey Tucker said of the ill-fated fireworks display. "Somebody joked that next time it will be snow that we'll have to cancel for."
What's left of Isaac has been plodding north into states that badly need moisture. The worst drought in decades stretches from Ohio west to California. Isaac will move straight through some of the hardest hit states: Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Lesser rain is expected to the west in portions of Oklahoma and Kansas.
State emergency agencies, city and county leaders and utility crews have been preparing for the deluge. In Indianapolis, a line of about 100 cars snaked from a Department of Public Works lot where free sandbags were being distributed Friday. Residents could pick up bags filled with 30 to 50 pounds of sand.
Jenny Bland, 50, of Indianapolis, waited in line more than 90 minutes so she could pick up bags for her family and elderly neighbors.
"People are taking this very seriously," Bland said.
Fears were well-founded in Arkansas, where some areas have had more than 6 inches of rain since Thursday, and thousands lost power. Tornado warnings were issued for several counties, but no touchdowns were confirmed late Friday and there were no reports of injuries or damage.
Brian Smith, senior forecaster for the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said remnants of the hurricane were still affecting central and northeast Arkansas late Friday. Showers and thunderstorms were possible in the northern half of the state Saturday, he said.
Tornado warnings extended into southern Missouri on Friday, and flash flood warnings were common.
Farther north, the concern — or hope, depending on your perspective — was mostly rain.
"Overall, this rainfall is much needed and much appreciated," meteorologist Jayson Gosselin, of the National Weather Service in suburban St. Louis, said late Friday. "It will definitely help our drought conditions for Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas to the south."
He said there hadn't been any threats of flash flooding or river flooding.
"Right now, with it being so dry we can take quite a bit of water," Gosselin said.
Missouri and Illinois should see steady rain into Sunday, forecasters said.
"The fact that the rain is going to be spread over probably two days, that's good," said meteorologist Jim Kramper, also with the National Weather Service in suburban St. Louis. "We're looking at rainfall deficits of 9 to 12 inches in this state so this isn't going to solve the problem, but it'll put a dent into it."
The downside: The rain was likely to make a washout of a usually festive weekend, with some events called off and others moved inside.
Dozens of high school football games were canceled, postponed or rescheduled. College teams, however, were prepared to play.
"That field's not going to be slick, and we don't have a Plan B," said Arkansas coach John L. Smith, whose Razorbacks prepared to host Jacksonville State on Saturday night in Fayetteville. Besides, he added, "The sun always shines on the Hogs."
In Champaign, Ill., Thomas Maton planned to put his wallet and cellphone in plastic bags and wear clothes he doesn't mind getting soaked for the Illini opener Saturday against Western Michigan. He figured he'd sat through worse, including games in sub-freezing temperatures.
"There's a certain point in your mind where you cross a line, 'We're stepping out of sanity here,'" Maton said. "But it's like, what the heck, it's two to three hours."
The weather put a damper on tourism. Oleg Shneper, manager of the Extended Stay America hotel near Kings Island amusement park in suburban Cincinnati, received several cancellations because of the weather.
"People have called to say they can't get here because the rain is keeping them from getting out of airports," he said.



So You Cannot Sleep K Leslie Graves Show
The K. Leslie Graves Show. Whether it be around the corner, or around the globe, we cover the stories that affect your external and your internal environment. We bring you the stories and, the science of natural disasters, personal and communal recovery and the themes of globalism. No victims are forgotten and no communities should be left behind. Please contribute $1 to keep this show on the air Via
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Saturday, September 22, 2012

CRYOSAT Satellite MEASURING ICE CHANGES




CRYOSAT MEASURING ICE LOSS DANGERS
K Leslie Graves Show So You Cannot Sleep Tell Why
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Changes in sea-ice thickness
 
24 April 2012
After nearly a year and a half of operations, CryoSat has yielded its first seasonal variation map of Arctic sea-ice thickness. Results from ESA’s ice mission were presented today at the Royal Society in London.
 
In June 2011, the first map of Arctic sea-ice thickness was unveiled, using CryoSat data acquired between January and February of that year.
Now, the complete 2010–11 winter season data have been processed to produce a seasonal variation map of sea-ice thickness.
This is the first map of its kind generated using data from a radar altimeter and at such a high resolution compared to previous satellite measurements.
CryoSat’s altimeter makes precise measurements of its height above the ice by measuring the time interval between the transmission and reception of very short radar pulses.
Readings over the Arctic from October 2010 to March 2011 were processed to map the seasonal formation of floating ice.
ESA and NASA have been collaborating to perform carefully coordinated flights directly under CryoSat’s orbit over the Arctic, gathering data to ensure the accuracy of the satellite measurements.
This fThe map, along with a full digital elevation model of Greenland and other scientific results from the collaborative European mission, were presented today at the Royal Society in London.
The event was jointly organised by ESA and the UK Space Agency as part of the wider celebration of the 50th anniversary of the UK in space.
“Within the 50th anniversary celebrations of space activities in the UK, we have today seen how the UK has been able to contribute to and lead in the many aspects of ESA’s CryoSat mission,” said David Williams, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency.
Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes, Volker Liebig, outlined the dramatic changes in the Arctic, and how satellites have been monitoring sea-ice for over 30 years.
“In the coming years, the Arctic will become a very important geo-political region,” said Prof. Liebig.
“15 to 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas reserves are expected there, and we will find shorter shipping routes as the ice melts. Satellites will play and ever-important role in the sustainable management of this sensitive region.”
Every year, the Arctic Ocean experiences the seasonal formation and then melting of vast amounts of floating ice. Over the past decade, satellites have seen an acceleration in the rate of overall sea ice loss.
Radars on satellites such as ESA’s CryoSat can acquire high-resolution images through clouds and darkness. This is particularly useful when observing the inaccessible Arctic, which is prone to long periods of bad weather and extended darkness.
In the coming years, CryoSat data will map precise changes in sea-ice thickness year to year, furthering our understanding of the effects that climate change has on the Arctic.
ESA’s SMOS mission is providing complementary information on sea-ice cover and the thickness of thin ice.
irst validated CryoSat dataset demonstrates the full potential of this innovative ice mission.  

Arctic Sea Ice Levels Hit Record Low, Scientists Say We're 'Running Out Of Time'
As Arctic sea ice levels hit a new record low this month, scientists and activists gathered to discuss how to bridge the gap between scientific facts and the public's limited understanding that we are, in their words, "really running out of time."
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) released preliminary findings Wednesday suggesting that on Sept. 16, Arctic ice covered just 1.32 million square miles -- the lowest extent ever recorded. This minimum is 49 percent below the 1979 average, when satellite records began.
“The loss of summer sea ice has led to unusual warming of the Arctic atmosphere, that in turn impacts weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere, that can result in persistent extreme weather such as droughts, heat waves and flooding,” NSIDC scientist Dr. Julienne Stroeve told Greenpeace in a press release.
Wednesday morning, a group of climate scientists and activists met at a Greenpeace International panel in New York to strategize on potential responses to the changing Arctic climate.
"There's a huge gap between what is understood by the scientific community and what is known by the public," NASA scientist James Hansen said, adding that he believed, "unfortunately, that gap is not being closed."
What the scientific community understands is that Arctic ice is melting at an accelerated rate -- and that humans play a role in these changes.
According to the panel, humans are "really running out of time" to prevent atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations from reaching levels that would precipitate runaway climate change. Hansen warned that even maintaining current concentrations of approximately 390 parts per million for several centuries "guarantees disaster."
Greenland's ice sheet melt: a sensational picture of a blunt fact
Once you look at the colour coding and absorb what it means it is a mapping of potential climate change catastrophe

The Greenland ice sheet on July 8, left, and four days later on the right. An estimated 97% of the ice sheet surface had thawed by July 12. Photograph: Nasa
This is the most frightening picture you will ever see. The information expressed visually here can be summed up in three words: change or die. So let's take a closer look.
These two juxtaposed images of Greenland are based on observations by satellites monitored by Nasa. The view on the left synthesises their collective view of this inhospitable landmass in the Arctic Circle on 8 July 2012. That on the right shows what Greenland looked like to the same satellites on 12 July, just four days later. A huge amount of ice has melted in an extremely unusual Arctic heatwave.
It's important to appreciate the colour coding of this visible science. Areas marked in white are places where no surface melting of the Greenland ice sheet has taken place. Areas in pale pink were seen by just one satellite to undergo surface melting. Areas in dark pink were seen by two or three satellites to undergo surface melting.
Let's also be clear about what "surface melting" means. The Greenland icecsheet has not vanished. Parts of it are two miles deep: the entire area it covers is six times bigger than Britain. That's a vast quantity of ice. Every summer, parts of the surface of this immense frozen world melt. Temporary lakes even appear on top of the ancient ice mass. Such activity on the surface of the ice sheet has been observed to be growing. But nothing prepared Nasa scientists analysing satellite data this month for the information visualised here. According to these images, 97% of the surface of Greenland's frozen interior saw a sudden summer melt this month. That is a spectacular departure from the expected.
It has happened before – in 1889. Glaciologist Laura Koenig, part of the Nasa team interpreting the data, said that ice cores show this kind of warm summer effect causes unusual melting about every 150 years, so "this event is right on time … but if we continue to observe melting events like this in upcoming years, it will be worrisome."
I am going out of my way to stress the cautious view of these spectacularly contrasting images of Greenland. The ice sheet has not vanished, it just went soft at the top. Even this massive area of surface melt can be seen as a one-off summer event recurring twice every three centuries. But … we know this is not the only evidence that the Arctic is losing ice. This picture of sudden change does not come out of the blue, or the white. It is the kind of thing alarmists have been predicting for years. Yet here it is, blunt fact. It is the sceptics who are irrational, revelling in delusion. Here is the reality, clear as day.
The effects of global warming caused by human action are worryingly visible here. But what effect will this clear and spectacular evidence have? When it comes to climate change the human ability to ignore evidence is as terrifying as the facts themselves. How is our technological ability to record and transmit information so far in advance of our ability to respond to our growing knowledge? Already, teams of deniers are probably poring over this latest iceberg of data chipping away until they can melt its credibility – just that tiny bit that legitimates governments in their paralysis and inaction.
Nasa could perhaps have designed this visualisation a bit less sensationally. To a casual eye, the use of white in the first picture might make it look as if the ice sheet itself has disappeared. If it does, we will not need satellites to tell us. This is about events on the surface of a vast and deep layering of ice. But once you look at the colour coding and absorb what it means it is a mapping of potential catastrophe. The picture is clear. Can we bear to look? And can the evidence of our eyes make us act?


Sea ice continues to track at low levels

Arctic sea ice continued to track at levels far below average through the middle of July, with open water in the Kara and Barents seas reaching as far north as typically seen during September. Melt onset began earlier than normal throughout most of the Arctic.
Early melt onset
The timing of seasonal melt onset, which can be estimated from satellite passive microwave data, plays an important role in the amount of ice that melts each summer. Unusually early melt onset means an early reduction in the surface 
albedo, allowing for more solar heating of the ice, which in turn allows melt ponds and open water areas to develop earlier in the melt season. In 2012, melt began earlier than normal (as compared to averages for the period 1979 to 2000) throughout most of the Arctic, the exceptions being the Bering Sea and the East Greenland Sea. Melt in the Kara and Barents seas began more than two weeks earlier than normal. Melt onset for the Laptev Sea region as a whole started on June 1 and was the earliest seen in the satellite record. Melt began 12 and 9 days earlier than normal averaged over the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, respectively.

Checking CryoSat reveals rising Antarctic blue ice

29 March 2012 Field measurements in the spectacular blue ice region of Antarctica not only provide confidence in the accuracy of ESA’s CryoSat mission, but have also shown that this part of the ice sheet has increased in height.
CryoSat breaks the ice with ocean currents

6 February 2012 Ocean measurements from ESA’s CryoSat mission are being exploited by the French space agency CNES to provide global ocean observation products in near-real time. Understanding sea-surface currents is important for marine industries and protecting ocean environments.

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Business is now worried
Global Warming: Top Firms 'Fear Climate Change'
Major companies are increasingly concerned that they are at risk from climate change in the face of recent extreme weather events such as drought and floods, according to a report.
More than a third (37%) see the physical risks of a changing climate such as extreme weather, rising sea levels and water scarcity as a real and present danger, up from just 10% two years ago, says the latest Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) survey of top global companies.
Four-fifths (81%) identify climate change risks to their business operations, supply chains and plans, up from 71% last year.
Of the 379 of the 500 companies who responded to the CDP's request for information about climate strategies and emissions data, 78% say they are now integrating climate change into their business strategy, up from 68% last year, the annual CDP Global 500 report said.
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