Disasters

"Climate change will make wildfires in the West, like those now raging in parts of Colorado and New Mexico, more frequent over the next 30 years, researchers reported on Tuesday."

"BELLVUE, Colo. -- Massive wildfires in drought-parched Colorado and New Mexico tested the resources of state and federal crews Monday and underscored the need to replenish an aging U.S. aerial firefighting fleet needed to combat a year-round fire season."

"Layered on top of heavy rains dumped by Tropical Storm Beryl, a stalled front and normal summer weather patterns have drenched North Florida, causing serious flooding in Escambia County, spawning a tornado in Santa Rosa and washing out the weekend for residents on the First Coast."

"There is a 50 percent chance the feared El Nino weather pattern which can trigger droughts in Southeast Asia and Australia and floods in South America may strike later this year, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center warned on Thursday."

"In its strongest prediction so far that El Nino could emerge, the CPC said conditions are still expected to be neutral between June and August, but there is a 50 percent likelihood that El Nino will develop in the remainder of the year.

A new investigation marks the five U.S. cities most vulnerable to hurricanes as Tampa/St. Petersburg, Miami, New Orleans, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, and Houston/Galveston.

"Human activity is affecting Earth in many ways, but a new study suggests that continued population growth and its impact on climate and ecology could trigger a more profound chain reaction of effects within little more than a decade."

"Mason Hansen guns his pickup and cranks the steering wheel to spin through sand up to 4 feet high, but this is no day at the beach. Hanson once grew corn and soybeans in the sandy wasteland in western Iowa, and his frustration is clear. Despite months spent hauling away tons of sand dropped when the flooded Missouri River engulfed his farm last summer, parts of the property still look like a desert."

Two scientists say BP's aggressive efforts to subpoena e-mails related to their estimate of the oil flow rate during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill invade their privacy and threaten the integrity of the scientific deliberative process.

"The answer to this question is unknown. What is known is that the U.S. government's flood insurance program has paid the First Apostolic Church of Rio Linda for six damage claims and will probably be on the hook again when another flood crests, which could be pretty soon."