Weather reports are not just about donning galoshes. They can mean literal life or death for people and businesses, such as during a natural disaster. So, as the latest Issue Backgrounder details, the ongoing effort to privatize publicly funded weather data is a matter of real controversy. Find out what’s in the weather privatization forecast.
"The U.K. said it will spend 1.2 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) on developing the most powerful weather and climate supercomputer in the world."
"Last April, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler, proclaimed at an auto show ... that he would soon roll back President Barack Obama’s stringent fuel efficiency standards. ... Nearly a year later, the rollback is nowhere near complete and may not be ready until this summer — if ever."
This special report is designed to help journalists in the Pacific Northwest cover the impacts of climate change, as well as the actions taken to mitigate its worst effects and to adapt to what can’t be stopped. The report includes a wide-ranging issue backgrounder and tipsheets on climate impacts, mitigation and adaptation, plus a toolbox of sources. Read on for a wealth of story ideas for right now, and over the coming decade. We hope this is the first in a series of regional climate special reports, and welcome your suggestions and ideas for future editions of "Covering Your Climate."
"Covering the entire 40 acres of Lake Newport was a thick, green mat of algae. Looking across the lake in Youngstown, Ohio, last September, Peter Moeller, a government researcher, wondered if his experimental treatment could heal the lake by removing the toxin-producing cyanobacteria."
"Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee grilled Department of Energy (DOE) staff Wednesday on delays in releasing funds for energy efficiency research, a topic that has broad bipartisan support in Congress but not from the White House."
"Former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy expressed doubts Wednesday over investing in carbon capture technology, saying that focus should instead be on limiting fossil fuel extraction."
"There’s a lot of ocean out there, and boats engaging in illegal fishing or human trafficking have good reason to hide." "Researchers outfitted 169 seabirds with radar detectors to pinpoint vessels that had turned off their transponders."
"A six-mile-long barrier would help protect the city from floodwaters during fierce storms like Sandy, but critics say rising seas make the option inadequate."
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