When Hurricane Irene neared New York at the end of August, the city took the unprecedented step of shutting down the entire transit system—buses, subways and commuter trains in the largest city in America. The danger was that …
Disasters
Falldown: Radioactive Fallout From Fukushima Posed Little Threat to the U.S.
Nearly a year after the Japanese tsunami and subsequent meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the good news is that the risk from radiation doesn’t seem to be as high as many initially feared. Take the Pacific Ocean, for …
A Nuke Scare in San Diego Shakes an Already Nervous Public
If you’ve felt jumpy since Fukushima, you’re not alone. Even the tiniest burp from a nuclear power plant gets people fearing the worst, so it was scary news indeed when the San Onofre plant in San Diego County announced at 6:30 PM (PST) on Tuesday night that one of it’s reactors might have begun leaking radioactive steam. The alarm was …
“Two years ago, it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face. In many case, that trend has not been continued or been reversed. Fort that reason, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists is moving the clock hand one minute closer to midnight, back to its time in 2007.”
Light for Haiti: A Feel-Good Tale in a Still-Dark Place
The sun will set early in Haiti tonight. By 5:23 PM, night will have come to the island nation, and while night comes to virtually every part of the world virtually everyday, throughout much of Haiti, the darkness will be much …
“Today, we have reached a great milestone. The reactors are stable, which should resolve one big cause of concern for us all.”
Irradiated Baby Food Formula Highlights Ongoing Problems in Fukushima
New tests show traces of radioactive elements in Japanese baby food, forcing the recall of more than 400,000 cans of infant formula. The news underscores the challenges still facing Japan’s food sector nine months after the …
Tsunami Revelations: Scientists Discover that the Japanese Tidal Wave Was a ‘Merged Tsunami’ — the First Ever Observed
The tsunami that tore through northern Japan on March 11 was catastrophically strong. The waves—triggered by a 9.0 earthquake—swamped coastal towns, destroyed homes and offices and led to the deaths of nearly 16,000 people. …
Life in the Time of the Great Dying
Earth history is different from ordinary history: it’s much harder to nail down specific dates when everything happened millions of years ago and over huge, slow timescales. But it can be done, as shown by paleontologists who …
IPCC Report: Global Warming—and Changing Population—Will Worsen the Toll of Extreme Weather
Maybe we should retire the term “global warming,” which makes climate change sound like a nice, pleasant bath. It’s true that climate change—caused chiefly by the rapid increase in manmade carbon emissions—will result in warmer temperatures, fewer cold days and longer and more intense heat waves. But the real damage, both …