After decades of mounting damage from climate-fueled natural disasters, researchers have compiled many misery-filled data sets that trace the economic fallout over weeks, months and years. The fires still burning in Los Angeles are sure to rank among America’s most expensive — but there is no perfect analogue for them, making it difficult to forecast…
(Editors note: We are continuing to cover the Los Angeles fires. Scroll down for more on the latest.) Societies have used nutrient-rich human waste as fertilizer for centuries. But sewage today is different. That’s because we’ve flooded the environment with complex chemicals that can end up in our sewage and wastewater and can’t be easily…
California has withdrawn requests that the Biden administration allow the state to enact limits on pollution from trucks, locomotives and ferries that are more strict than federal standards, on the expectation that the Trump administration would revoke them. The move will leave the state, which has become a global leader in the fight against climate…
Aircraft battling fires raging through the Los Angeles area are dousing the area with more than water: Hundreds of thousands of gallons of hot-pink fire suppressant have been dropped ahead of the flames in a desperate effort to stop them before they destroy more neighborhoods. The deadly fires have displaced thousands of residents and destroyed…
As Los Angeles burned for days on end, horrifying the nation, scientists made an announcement on Friday that could help explain the deadly conflagration: 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history. With temperatures rising around the globe and the oceans unusually warm, scientists are warning that the world has entered a dangerous new era…
This week’s fires around Los Angeles present a puzzle: Why is California, the state best equipped to deal with wildfires, seemingly unable to prevent blazes from consuming entire chunks of the country’s second-largest city? California’s building code for wildfires is among the most protective in the nation. Its local fire departments are backed up by…
Constellation Energy, the nation’s largest nuclear power plant operator, has agreed to buy another electricity producer, Calpine, for $16.4 billion, a deal that shows how fast-rising demand for power, partly a result of the data centers being built for artificial intelligence, is having far-reaching effects on the economy. The cash-and-stock deal, announced Friday, ranks among…
California is the most prepared state in America for wildfires. So why is it unable to protect its largest city? Source link
Massive wildfires that engulfed whole neighbourhoods and displaced thousands in Los Angeles have killed at least 10 people, authorities said, as California’s National Guard soldiers readied to hit the streets to help quell disorder. News of the growing toll, announced late on Thursday by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, came as swaths of the…
From above the raging flames, these planes can unleash immense tankfuls of bright pink fire retardant in just 20 seconds. They have long been considered vital in the battle against wildfires. But emerging research has shown that the millions of gallons of retardant sprayed on the landscape to tame wildfires each year come with a…
