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

CLICK HERE - CDP - Company Scores

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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PACK ICE MELTING IN SPRING IN ANTARCTICA'S WEDDEL SEA. CREDIT: PLANET OBSERVER/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The faster the ocean warms, the faster key Antarctic glaciers will disintegrate.

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Four decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance from 1979–2017

thinkprogress.org - by Joe Romm - January 15, 2019

A stunning new study on Antarctic sea ice collapse greatly raises the risk of a 10-foot sea level rise this century if President Donald Trump’s climate policies aren’t quickly reversed.

Warming ocean waters drove a 6-fold increase in annual ice mass loss from the Antarctic ice sheet between 1979 and 2017, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

It’s been known for a while that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) was unstable and collapsing at an accelerating rate due to global warming. But the new study finds that parts of the vastly larger East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) are also disintegrating.

A firefighter battling the Camp fire, which became California’s deadliest in history. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

Pacific Gas and Electric, which supplies 16 million residents, is under investigation for its role in the Camp fire and others

theguardian.com - by Vivian Ho - January 14, 2019

The utility company that services more than a third of California announced on Monday it plans to file for bankruptcy by the end of the month. Several deadly wildfires believed to have been caused by the company left it with potential liabilities of at least $30bn.

The board of directors of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has determined that the move “is ultimately the only viable option to restore PG&E’s financial stability to fund ongoing operations and provide safe service to customers”, the San Francisco-based company stated in a filing at the Security and Exchange Commission.

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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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Workers install solar panels.  Associated Press

The open letter includes a signature from a former high-level Mobil Oil executive.

CLICK HERE - Elected Officials to Protect America - Empowering lawmakers to act boldly on climate

huffingtonpost.com - by Alexander C. Kaufman - December 14, 2018

In a little over a month, the so-called Green New Deal has won endorsements from more than three dozen sitting or incoming federal lawmakers as Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) makes a high-profile bid to shift debate over climate change toward policy on the scale of the crisis. 

On Friday, the effort got a boost from 311 state and local officials.

Forty-four mayors, 63 county and state legislators and 116 city council members were among the officials from 40 states ― including some top oil and gas producers ― who signed an open letter issuing a sweeping, full-throated call for the phaseout of fossil fuels and adoption of Green New Deal-style climate policies.

DW Documentary - November 8, 2017

Climate change and rising sea levels mean the island nation of Kiribati in the South Pacific is at risk of disappearing into the sea.

But the island’s inhabitants aren’t giving up. They are doing what they can to save their island from inundation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ0j6kr4ZJ0

weather.com

CLICK HERE - FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT

bbc.com - November 23, 2018

Unchecked climate change will cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars and damage human health and quality of life, a US government report warns.

"Future risks from climate change depend... on decisions made today," the 4th National Climate Assessment says . . .

. . . But it says that projections of future catastrophe could change if society works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and "to adapt to the changes that will occur".

CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE - Climate change: Report warns of growing impact on US life

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CLICK HERE - U.S. Should Expect Worsening Weather Disasters, New Government Climate Report Warns

Hurricane Floyd submerged the Greenville, North Carolina, water treatment plant in 1999. Following that event, the city used a federal grant to construct a berm and pumping station to protect the plant.  Dave Gatley/Federal Emergency Management Agency

Mitigation projects yield positive return on investment in coastal, inland states

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure (122 page .PDF report)

pewtrusts.org - by Forbes Tompkins - November 20, 2018

From elevating roadways in Nebraska to moving wastewater treatment plants away from flood plains in Iowa, proactive measures before flooding can provide a major return on investment, according to a new report from the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). The report, “Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure,” provides analysis and key examples that underscore the benefits of investing in mitigation measures.

Pixabay.com

ncei.noaa.gov - October 12, 2018

7 things to know about NCEI’s U.S. billion-dollar disasters data

Drought, floods, freezing temperatures, severe storms, tropical cyclones, wildfires, winter storms—every year since 1980, these weather and climate disasters have claimed countless lives and caused billions of dollars in damages in the United States. And, it is NCEI's job to chronicle these disasters and document their impacts to the Nation.

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How South Beach, Miami, could look if temperatures rise by 2C. Photograph: Nickolay Lamm/Courtesy of Climate Central/sealevel.climatecentral.org

As the UN sits down for its annual climate conference this week, many experts believe we have passed the point of no return

theguardian.com - by Robin McKie - December 2, 2018

On Sunday morning hundreds of politicians, government officials and scientists will gather in the grandeur of the International Congress Centre in Katowice, Poland . . . For 24 years the annual UN climate conference has served up a reliable diet of rhetoric, backroom talks and dramatic last-minute deals aimed at halting global warming . . .

. . . As recent reports have made clear, the world may no longer be hovering at the edge of destruction but has probably staggered beyond a crucial point of no return. Climate catastrophe is now looking inevitable.

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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

CLICK HERE - ENLARGED TEXAS MAP (1 page .PDF file)

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 . . . 

Image: One Concern

fastcompany.com - by Katharine Schwab - November 15, 2018

 . . . One Concern is launching a machine learning platform that provides cities with specialized maps to help emergency crews decide where to focus their efforts in a flood. The maps update in real-time based on data about where water is flowing to estimate where people need help the most. It’s the latest in a wave of AI-powered tools aimed at helping cities prepare for an era of severe, and increasingly frequent, disasters.

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Our platform provides unprecedented situational awareness and actionable insights for decision-makers.

Houston residents Larry Koser Jr. and his son Matthew salvage possessions from their home after Hurricane Harvey. Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Anthropogenic influences on major tropical cyclone events

pbs.org - by Julia Griffin - November 14, 2018

Hurricane Harvey swamped Houston with seven days of pounding rain last August. When scientists went back to look at historical weather patterns, they reported Harvey dumped 20 percent more rain than it typically would have. The culprit: climate change.

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