Disasters

"Climate scientists, who specialize in thinking about the Earth system as a whole, are often reticent to link any one weather event to global climate change. But they say that aspects of the case of Hurricane Harvey—and the recent history of tropical cyclones worldwide—suggest global warming is making a bad situation worse."

"Hurricane Harvey has barreled into the heart of the U.S. oil and gas industry, prompting the sudden evacuation of workers. Spot prices for gasoline are expected to jump Monday, but the full extent of damage will not be clear for days, companies and experts said."

"Regularly inundated by floodwaters ever since its settlement in the mid-1800s, Houston looked on warily even before Harvey roared ashore. In Houston, the chronic deluges that have repeatedly swamped its neighborhoods are getting worse and more costly — not just for locals, but for federal taxpayers."

"Around 13 million people are under flood watches and warnings stretching from Corpus Christi to New Orleans as the remnants of Hurricane Harvey menace the already drenched Texas and Louisiana."

"The Lummi Nation declared a state of emergency Thursday after a weekend spill of Atlantic salmon from a fish farm in San Juan waters."

"Harvey continued to intensify as it steered for the Texas coast, with the forecasters saying early Friday that it had strengthened to a Category 2 storm."

"A hurricane warning was issued for the Texas coast Thursday morning, as Harvey regained tropical storm strength as it drifted in the Gulf of Mexico."

"A proposal for the first oil and gas drilling in federal offshore waters of the Arctic took a step forward Thursday as regulators released a draft environmental impact statement, which reflects concerns about the effects of the project on marine life and local communities."

"A federal appeals court has let ExxonMobil largely off the hook for a 2013 pipeline spill that deluged a neighborhood in Mayflower, Arkansas, with more than 200,000 gallons of heavy tar sands crude oil, sickening residents and forcing them from their homes."

"SAND SPRINGS, Mont. — In this part of Montana’s rugged eastern prairie, Erwin Weder and the other ranchers and cowboys are not used to feeling kicked around. But as Weder drives his pickup truck onto a bluff to gaze out over “Big Sky Country,” he feels a bit defeated."