U.N. says Climate Change is Causing more Weather Disasters

According to a report released by the U.N. natural weather disasters are on a rise due to climate change. They state that this climate change will lead to more extreme weather events such as large hurricanes and severe droughts. They believe that climate change is causing the long heat-waves and torrential rainfalls being experienced around the planet. The U.N. believes many low-lying states and countries are in danger of losing land as a result of rising sea levels brought on by climate change. This will lead to an increase in damage costs and potential deaths brought on by extreme storms or unusual weather patterns. The National Climate Data Center released a report that stated in the U.S, the cost of weather disasters has reached 50 billion dollars in 2011 alone. The U.N. states a major cause of the climate change is the large amounts of green house gases and air warming aerosols being used around the world.   

http://www.enn.com/press_releases/3884

Concerns over Japanese exports

New research reported in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal has found extremely high levels of radioactive material in north-eastern Japan, especially in areas near the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The Fukushima nuclear power plant was damaged after a large earthquake and tsunami struck Japan earlier in 2011. The high levels of radioactive material exceed the levels considered safe for farming and food consumption. An earlier study, conducted by Japan, suggested that the levels of radiation were under the safety limit and therefore safe for consumption. However, as new research shows, areas around the Fukushima power plant were eight times the safety limit and neighboring regions were either at the safety limit or just slightly under it. Areas of western Japan are below the safety limit and scientists credit these low radioactive levels to the large mountain range that splits down the center of Japan, which helps to shelter western Japan from the dispersal of airborne radioactive material. Scientists are concerned most over the radioactive element, Caesium-137, because it has been known to linger in an environment for decades. Caesium-137 is the same radioactive element that was released during the Chernobyl disaster. This is a large concern for Japanese food exports because the north-eastern part of Japan, near the Fukushima plant, is one of Japan's main agricultural areas.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15691571

Huge Blizzard Hits Alaska's Western Coast

A large blizzard moving through the Bering Sea has struck Alaska's western coast causing damage and flooding. This is the largest storm to strike Alaska since 1974. The blizzard has brought along hurricane force winds, heavy snows, and lots of flooding along coastal cities. The flooding is a result of the large storm surge, in some areas the flooding has reached 10ft of water. The strong hurricane force winds have knocked out power in many communities and has even torn the roofs off of houses and buildings. Residents in the coastal communities have been advised to seek higher ground. As of now, Novemeber 10th, there has been no reported deaths due to the blizzard.

Coal Ash Landslide into Lake Michigan

On Monday, October 31st, a large coal ash pile slid into Lake Michigan as the result of a bluff failure. The disaster occurred at WE Energies (Wisconsin Energies) plant in Oak Creek, Wisconsin near Milwaukee. Doug Cherkauer, a geo-sciences professor at UW-Milwaukee, stated that water was a main factor in the bluff failure because coal ash is less compact and less stable than the natural clay rich soils found in the area. Water caused an area between the coal ash pile and the clay rich soil to become very lubricated which lead to a bluff failure that sent tons of coal ash into Lake Michigan. Drinking water from Lake Michigan is used by 10 million residents who live along the lake's borders. A spokesman for WE Energies said there is no need to worry because coal ash is a non-hazardous material. However, according to the Natural Resource Council and the EPA, coal ash contains 24 known pollutants. These pollutants include arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead and mercury just to name a few. A study conducted by the EPA on residents living near unlined ash ponds showed that these residents have a high risk of getting cancer due to aresenic contamination. Taking an engineering paradigm approach towards this issue I would say that coal mines should have more restrictions placed on them regarding their ash piles and structures should be built that can properly house coal ash to reduce the risk of contaminated drinking water.
http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/
http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2011/11/clean-wisconsin-disputes-we-energy-on.html

Huge Snowstorm Strikes the NorthEastern United States

Over the weekend a unusually large snowstorm for this time of year affected over 60 million people in the north east. Around 2.3 million people were left without power as a result of the snowstorm, this is about the same amount of people who had no power after Hurricane Katrina. This large snowstorm resulted in Halloween being canceled in many cities and 11 people lost their lives from the storm. 20-30 inches of snow fell in areas across the north east resulting in people being stranded without food or gasoline. In New York City's Central Park, over 1000 trees collapsed under the weight of the heavy snow.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45110762#45110762