Tag Archives: season

When Republicans Start Their Race to the Bottom, It Can Only Mean Primary Season Is Approaching

by RodrigoReinhard Posted on May 14, 2014

Mother Jones

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Marco Rubio has announced that he thinks climate change is nonsense. Rand Paul has hastily backed off his heresy over voter ID laws. Bobby Jindal gave the commencement address at Liberty University this weekend. Rick Santorum is flogging a new book, Blue Collar Conservatives. Chris Christie is agonizing over whether to piss off gun owners by signing a bill that would ban magazines holding more than ten rounds. Mike Huckabee has ditched his amiable persona and is demanding impeachment of a judge who struck down a gay marriage ban in Arkansas.

I guess primary season must be approaching. The fight for the fever swamp vote is now in full swing.

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When Republicans Start Their Race to the Bottom, It Can Only Mean Primary Season Is Approaching

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The Money Bracket: What If the Richest Team Won?

by TangelaCulpeppe Posted on March 20, 2014

Mother Jones

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Data from the US Department of Education

March Madness is big business. The tournament rakes in $1 billion in ad sales, $771 million in broadcast rights, and a countless amount in office pool payouts that you never win. (Players will make $0, though a select few are compensated in torn nylon.) Here’s what two NCAA tournament brackets would look like if teams advanced by measures other than points scored: total athletic revenue and total men’s basketball expenses per win this season.

How would the bracket look if it were based on funding for women’s teams?

Revenue
What’s amazing about filling out a bracket based on athletic department wealth (see above) is how similar it looks to a bracket based on real tournament predictions. The school with the least revenue, Mount St. Mary’s at $7.5 million, doesn’t even make it out of the play-in game with Albany (a result that mirrors real life). Deep-pocketed Texas emerges from a difficult region (Texas, Michigan, and Tennessee all have nine-figure revenues, with Louisville coming close) to take home the trophy.

Win Cost
By taking a school’s total men’s basketball expenses, we can figure out how much each team spent per win this season. North Carolina Central, with its relatively small budget and 28-5 record, spent only about $34,000 on each victory. (This ignores strength of schedule—wins in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference can be easier to come by than wins in a more powerful conference). On the other end, Ohio State took home the “least efficient” title, dropping more than $750,000 per win. Five other teams—Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, Syracuse, and Oklahoma State—also broke the half-million-per-victory mark.

Data from the US Department of Education

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The Money Bracket: What If the Richest Team Won?

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Is "House of Cards’" Most Principled New Character Also a War Criminal?

by FranD81tce Posted on February 21, 2014

Mother Jones

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Democratic congresswoman and war vet Jacqueline Sharp (played by Molly Parker) is one of the most sympathetic characters on the Netflix political drama House of Cards. In a series populated by dark, purely self-interested, and/or corrupt characters, Sharp is something of a refreshing outlier. She is smart and strong, particularly when in a room of cynical, powerful old men. She is generally a kind and upfront person. She demonstrates an aversion to unethical deal-making. And she isn’t a heartless mass-manipulator on the scale of Vice President Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey).

“I don’t think that this character is a sociopath. I think that she has a conscience,” Parker said of her character. “I think that she’s a principled woman in terms of her point of view, her perspective as a soldier.”

However likeable or principled she may be, could she also be the show’s first war criminal?

In the first episode of season two, Underwood informs Sharp that he wishes to have her succeed him as House Majority Whip. When she asks why he is so adamant, the morally bankrupt Underwood reveals that he picked her because of her “ruthless pragmatism” in wartime. He asks her about the number of missile strikes she ordered during the war, and how she ordered them knowing many innocent women and children would perish in the attacks. “I had orders to eliminate the enemy,” she says, rationalizing the civilian casualties. “I watched apartment buildings, entire villages, gone, like they were never there.”

Her actions clearly haunt her. In a subsequent episode, when she is in bed with her lover, she confesses in sorrow that she “killed a lot of people,” before she tells him to continue bringing her to climax.

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Is "House of Cards’" Most Principled New Character Also a War Criminal?

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4 Ways to Have the Greenest Christmas Tree

by Traci B. Jackson Posted on December 2, 2013

Decorating an outside tree is just one way you can have a greener holiday season. Photo: Shutterstock

‘Tis the season to start looking for the perfect tree to light up your home for the holidays.

Since most Christmas trees are grown on reputable farms, live trees are now a more eco-friendly option than artificial trees, which are made from nonrecyclable materials. But if you’re looking to go even greener this season, there are other sustainable options available.

Rent a Live Tree

Many nurseries now offer the option to rent out live trees, and some even come fully decorated. The renter simply waters the tree throughout the season, then takes it back to the nursery to be cared for until the next year.

Get a Plantable Bulb

No tree-renting nurseries near you? Why not get a plantable bulb tree? After the holidays, you can plant it outdoors, further lowering your carbon footprint.

Decorate an Outside Tree

Decorate your yard and your tree at the same time by planting and decorating an outside Christmas tree. Another perk — you get to appreciate it year-round, not just during the holidays.

Recycle

If you’re still inclined to get a cut tree, there are several recycling options available. Leftover trees can be used for mulch, erosion, habitat creation and more. Check out our treecycling search to find a recycling option near you.

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4 Ways to Have the Greenest Christmas Tree

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Dot Earth Blog: Will Sandy’s Lessons Fade as a Sleepy Atlantic Storm Season Ends?

by Myrna Posted on October 28, 2013

An extraordinarily quiet Atlantic hurricane season follows an epic storm surge, raising questions about disaster forgetfulness. Original link:  Dot Earth Blog: Will Sandy’s Lessons Fade as a Sleepy Atlantic Storm Season Ends? ; ;Related ArticlesCity Room: A Thrill Now Sadly RareIn Response to Storm, New York Will Create a Gas ReserveWill Sandy’s Lessons Fade as a Sleepy Atlantic Storm Season Ends? ;

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Dot Earth Blog: Will Sandy’s Lessons Fade as a Sleepy Atlantic Storm Season Ends?

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Storm that already hit Mexico turns into a hurricane, threatens to strike again

by oks23po Posted on September 19, 2013

Storm that already hit Mexico turns into a hurricane, threatens to strike again

By

NOAAForecast wind strength from Hurricane Manuel. Click to embiggen.

More storm-blown devastation is headed for Mexico, which has already been hammered by the remnants of hurricanes on its east and west coasts during the past week. The tropical storms left at least 80 dead, with dozens more still missing.

And as Mexicans brace for a hurricane that has formed off its west coast, meteorologists are warning U.S. Gulf of Mexico residents that a tropical storm could reach there next week.

Tropical storm Manuel hit Mexico’s western coastline on Sunday before heading back over the Pacific Ocean. But before it left it dumped enough rain to trigger a landslide in a mountainside coffee-growing village, burying homes and leaving 58 people unaccounted for. Tropical storm Ingrid hit the county’s east coast at about the same time, wreaking carnage and leaving tourists stranded in Acapulco.

Since returning to the ocean, Manuel has been picking up strength. Early Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that Manuel was a Category 1 hurricane that was “crawling” northward — back in the direction of Mexico’s coastline. From an A.P. report:

The storm that devastated the Pacific resort over the weekend regained strength on Wednesday and became hurricane Manuel, taking a route that could see it make landfall on Mexico’s north-western coast. It would be a third blow to a country still reeling from the one-two punch of Manuel’s first landfall and hurricane Ingrid on Mexico’s eastern coast.

Meanwhile, meteorologists are warning that a tropical storm appears to be forming over Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula that may veer north and slam into the U.S. Gulf Coast. From USA Today:

Once it forms, the storm is expected to wander around the Gulf for a while, and potentially could hit the U.S. Gulf Coast next week, according to some of the computer models that meteorologists use to forecast weather, says Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters.

Regardless of its exact track, heavy rain from the system is likely to drench part of northeastern Mexico and the Texas coast this weekend, says AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. Flash floods are possible along the Texas coast, along with rough surf and strong rip currents, he adds.

In eastern Mexico, rain from the storm “could cause life-threatening floods and mudslides over areas already impacted by torrential rains during the past several days,” the hurricane center forecasts in an online report.

The wild coastal weather follows what had been a calm summer free of hurricanes. These recent storms struck just as we passed the traditional peak time for such tempests, but the season still has a long way to go:

NOAA

Click to embiggen.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Climate & Energy

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Storm that already hit Mexico turns into a hurricane, threatens to strike again

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Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness

by Myrna Posted on March 21, 2013

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It’s the first day of spring! Here comes the toxic green sludge

by charlenedean Posted on March 20, 2013

It’s the first day of spring! Here comes the toxic green sludge

By John Upton

Ohio Sea Grant and Stone LaboratoryA sign last year warned of poisonous algae in Sandusky Bay, part of Lake Erie.

Spring officially arrives today, and meteorologists are forecasting heavy rains this season in parts of the Midwest. That sounds lovely — better than a drought for sure. But those rains will wash fertilizer, animal waste, and other nutrient-rich pollution into Lake Erie, where they are expected to fuel another bumper season of toxic blue-green algae.

As we reported last year, the toxic algae blooms that coated the Great Lakes from the 1950s to the 1970s have returned. Last century’s blooms were fed with nutrients from human sewage; the latest iterations are caused by sloppy farming practices. As much as one-sixth of Lake Erie was coated with algae last year, killing wildlife and stinking out homes and holiday destinations.

With a wet spring forecast, those blooms are tipped to return this year. From The New York Times:

The spring rains reliably predict how serious the summer algae bloom will be: the more frequent and heavy the downpours, the worse the outbreak. And this year the National Weather Service says there is a higher probability than elsewhere of above-normal spring rains along the lake’s west end, where the algae first appear. The private forecaster Accuweather predicts a wetter than usual March and April throughout the region. …

“2002 was the last year that we didn’t have much of a bloom,” said Thomas Bridgeman, a professor at the Lake Erie Center at the University of Toledo. “2008, ’09 and ’10 were really bad years for algal blooms.

“And then we got 2011.”

2011 was the wettest spring on record. That summer’s algae bloom, mostly poisonous blue-green algae called Microcystis, sprawled nearly 120 miles, from Toledo to past Cleveland. It produced lake-water concentrations of microcystin, a liver toxin, that were 1,200 times World Health Organization limits, tainting the drinking water for 2.8 million consumers.

Welcome to spring, everybody.

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

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It’s the first day of spring! Here comes the toxic green sludge

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Watch every hurricane that formed during the third-most-active season in history

by Myrna Posted on November 29, 2012

Watch every hurricane that formed during the third-most-active season in history

By Philip Bump

Here, in just shy of four and a half minutes, is the entire 2012 hurricane season. Assuming, that is, that no tropical storms crop up in the next 36 hours or so; hurricane season ends on Nov. 30.

It’s pretty, in its way. Humbling, watching the patterns and the flow of the clouds as they work their way slowly around the ocean. For the planet, Sandy was just another spinning formation, made and gone and forgotten.

For us, Sandy was the capstone to what the Capital Weather Gang notes was tied for the third-most-active hurricane season in history.

In an average season (using 1981-2010 as a baseline), there are 12.1 named storms, 6.4 hurricanes, and 2.7 major hurricanes. This season ended up with 19 named storms, 10 of which became hurricanes, but just 1 of those became a major hurricane (defined as category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale). The 19 named storms ties for the third greatest number of such storms in a season on record. Historically, only about 3 percent of seasons experience 19 or more named storms. As rare as this feat is, it was amazingly the third consecutive season to have 19 named storms!

Despite this year’s large number of named storms, major hurricane activity was minimal. Of all the seasons with at least 19 named storms, the previous lowest number of “major hurricane days” was 3.75. This year, the total was a meager 0.25 days (six hours).

NOAA

Every storm of 2012. Click to embiggen.

There’s another measure by which 2012 was exceptional.

Another metric for evaluating seasonal activity is known as Accumulated Cyclone Energy, or ACE. ACE is basically a wind energy index used to succinctly characterize a season by the intensity and duration of all of the storms. The 2012 season finished up at 126.2, or about 137 percent of an average season. The median value over the period 1951-2010 is 92.4, and any season that exceeds 103 is considered to be “above normal”; however, there must also be at least two major hurricanes to meet the “above normal” criteria. As of now, Michael is 2012’s only major hurricane, but it’s quite possible that Sandy will be upgraded to a major hurricane when it was near Cuba. Nadine, the fifth-longest-lasting storm on record, contributed to 20% of the total ACE, while Sandy contributed to 11% of the total.

So, in short, this year we had an extremely active and highly energetic hurricane season that resulted in billions of dollars of damage on the East Coast and the Caribbean.

If only there were something humans could do to lessen the amount of energy in the atmosphere and prevent future years of similar intensity.

Source

Third most active hurricane season on record (tie) ends Friday, Capital Weather Gang

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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