Situation Report

A highway stands immersed in floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey in West Columbia, Texas, on Aug. 30.  Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

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bloomberg.com - by Christopher Flavelle - January 22, 2019

Bank of America Corp. worries flooded homeowners will default on their mortgages. The Walt Disney Co. is concerned its theme parks will get too hot for vacationers, while AT&T Inc. fears hurricanes and wildfires may knock out its cell towers.

The Coca-Cola Co. wonders if there will still be enough water to make Coke.

As the Trump administration rolls back rules meant to curb global warming, new disclosures show that the country’s largest companies are already bracing for its effects. The documents reveal how widely climate change is expected to cascade through the economy -- disrupting supply chains, disabling operations and driving away customers, but also offering new ways to make money.

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The Delta Fire rages in Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California on Sept. 6.  Noah Berger / AP file

nbcnews.com - by Avichai Scher - December 24, 2018

 . . . The increasing visibility of climate change, combined with bleak scientific reports and rising carbon dioxide emissions, is taking a toll on mental health, especially among young people, who are increasingly losing hope for their future. Experts call it “climate grief,” depression, anxiety and mourning over climate change.

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Graphic of Texas shows the updated rainfall values in inches that define certain extreme events, such as the 100-year storm. Courtesy of NOAA

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New topographic and predictive rainfall data means more people in Harris County will be mapped in floodplains.

houstonpublicmedia.org - by Davis Land - November 26, 2018

When Hurricane Harvey left so much of Houston underwater, it highlighted a problem that’s been getting worse for years: Harris County’s existing floodplain maps just don’t work.

In the year since the historic storm, flood control officials have promised to change that, and they already had plans to redo the maps, but new data on the geography of the area and the amount of rainfall forecasters expect in the future means the new maps could look drastically different.

It’s crucial the maps are done right, as people are using the maps, meant to set flood insurance premiums, for more than they are intended . . . 

An aerial image of an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, taken on April 28, 2018.  (Handout photo by Oscar Garcia-Pineda, Water Mapping, LLC)

circa.com - by Julia Boccagno and The Associated Press - October 24, 2018

Millions of gallons of oil have been spewing into the Gulf of Mexico for more than 14 years, forming what is poised to become one of the worst environmental disasters in the United States, according the Gulf Restoration Network, which has been tracking the chronic leak.

"There has been an uptrend of the areas of the slick during the last two years," wrote Oscar Pineda-Garcia, who runs a company that maps oil spills and is an adjunct professor at Florida State University.

Environmental leaders suggest that the Taylor Energy Co. oil spill has dumped anywhere between 10,000 to 30,000 gallons of oil a day since 2004, when its platform collapsed during Hurricane Ivan.

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