The Watering Hole, Tuesday April 1, 2014 – Environmental News and Food Politics

April Fools!!!!!!!

 

Too tired to be clever, so I’ll leave that to others.

1. Time to Vege Up! Cut out the meat and the cheese if you want to save the world.  

“If agricultural emissions are not addressed, nitrous oxide from fields and methane from livestock may double by 2070. This alone would make meeting the climate target essentially impossible.”

2. Last week it was Chernobyl, this week Three Mile Island is celebrating an anniversary. I actually remember this one pretty well. Just met Cats and lived in Reading, PA, about 60 miles downwind of the disaster. Have we learned anything yet?

3. GMO labeling won’t go away. Food Democracy showing signs of resurgence in California, Colorado. Referenda – the people speak.

 

OPEN THREAD!

Heavy Flooding Forecast for Harrisburg PA. As in “Three Mile Island” Harrisburg?

Flooding in 1972 from Hurricane "Agnes" (source: United States Coastguard)

Rampaging rivers, rock slides, torrents of rain and mass evacuations. The generation that grew up on tales of eastern Pennsylvania’s Agnes catastrophe of 1972 is getting its own story now, with rain-weary cities and towns along the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers hunkered down in anticipation of record-threatening crests.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee led to what one AccuWeather meteorologist called a “fire hose” of tropical downpours falling on land and water already overcharged by August’s record soaking. (read more)

This scares me quite a bit. I wonder what the Three Mile Island safety measures are for flooding. They are not worried, however. It is not as if the rains will stop any time soon. La Nina conditions are forecast, which will make extreme weather conditions more likely and there is TS Maria out there, which is about to come up on a very similar track as Irene did.

Stay safe and monitor what is going on closely, all you who are close to the area.