NPR NEWSLETTER: Trump Meets Putin; Too Hot To Think; Mini-Math Memoir 16JUL18

Monday, July 16, 2018

FIRST UP: What you need to know now Opinion on U.S. immigration policy shaped by where you watch TV news The way your local news covers the controversial topic can be a better predictor of your opinion of immigration than your political affiliation, according to a new NPR-Ipsos poll. Pollsters asked more than 1,000 people about the differences in where they lived, whether they knew anyone born outside the U.S., or whether they were an immigrant themselves. Read more. Heat can make your body and brain slow way down New research suggests that summer’s hot-and-hazy weather can make thinking clearly difficult. Researchers at Harvard studied college students living in dorms during a summer heat wave in Boston. “Indoor temperature can have a dramatic impact on our ability to be productive and learn,” noted Joe Allen, co-director of Harvard’s Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment. Read more. War of words between Elon Musk and British rescue diver after Thai cave rescue Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk took aim at Vern Unsworth, the British diver who helped save 12 Thai soccer players and their soccer coach, calling Unsworth a “pedo guy” on Twitter. The Tesla CEO’s tweet came after Unsworth called Musk’s offer to use a submarine to free the trapped team a “PR stunt.” Unsworth says he is considering a libel suit against Musk. Read more.

IN THE NEWS: Digging deeper Trump meets Putin in historic Helsinki summit Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images With only their interpreters present, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Monday for a stand-alone summit. The two-hour meeting was followed by a working lunch, which Trump called a “very, very good start for everybody.” Prior to their meeting, Trump said the two leaders would discuss “everything from trade to military to missiles to nuclear to China.” Trump tweeted that the relationship between the U.S. and Russia has never been worse, blaming “many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity” for the issue. He also called the ongoing investigation into charges of Moscow’s 2016 election interference a “rigged witch hunt.” The joint post-meeting press conference yielded more details about Trump and Putin’s closed-door discussions. Trump reversed course by saying both countries were to blame for the political tension. He also noted the two leaders discussed the issue of Russian interference in U.S. elections, adding that Putin was “extremely strong and powerful” in his denial. The highly anticipated gathering took place days after the U.S. Justice Department indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers on charges related to the hacking of email servers used by the Democratic National Committee. Today’s meeting brings to a close Trump’s week-long trip to Europe, where he caused a diplomatic uproar at the NATO summit in London. NPR’s Scott Horsley is covering the summit in Helsinki and will continue to update his story with news. BEFORE YOU GO Sonya Sones/HBO The lovely HBO documentary on Robin Williams explores the mind of a creative genius. Oui, oui! France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final on Saturday. Sacha Baron Cohen’s new Showtime show, Who is America?, makes a splashy debut. Writing a mini-math memoir could relieve math anxiety. Think twice before calling the po-po: 911 isn’t a personal customer service line. Today's newsletter was written by Jill Hudson and Gabriela Saldivia.

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Drought, Blistering Temperatures and Raging Fires: Are We Screwed? 5 Facts You Should Know 27JUL12

A really good article on the drought we, the nation, is experiencing from AlterNet.....

If we combine our knowledge with action, we may have a fighting chance.

In 2007, as a drought-stricken Georgia watched its drinking water reserves dwindle, then-governor Sonny Purdue took action -- he organized a prayer service for rain. In similar fashion in 2011 as fires raged across Texas in one of the state's worst droughts, Governor Rick Perry designated Easter weekend "official days of prayer for rain," according to the Texas Tribune.

And now as the country endures fires, drought and record-high temperatures, our leaders are on bended knee yet again. Earlier this month Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters he was saying an extra prayer for rain. But the latest science shows that the country's leaders are going to need a whole lot more than prayer. Vilsack for one, may be feeling the pressure. A backlash is growing against the Agriculture Secretary for comments he made in a recent press conference when asked about whether or not climate change may be playing a role in this summer's torturous weather.

Vilsack responded:

I'm not a scientist so I'm not going to opine as to the cause of this. All we know is that right now there are a lot of farmers and ranchers who are struggling. And it's important and necessary for them to know, rather than trying to focus on what's causing this, what can we do to help them.

Farmers don't want to know if there is a potential link between droughts affecting their livelihood and climate change? I'm pretty sure farmers like to plan ahead and knowing what may be coming down the road is extremely helpful. And Vilsack doesn't have to worry about "opining" on climate change, as Brad Johnson points out, the USDA -- the department Vilsack heads -- has a Climate Change Program Office that's staffed with top scientists.

In case you were worried that our government is not thinking long-term enough about our problems, Vilsack can reassure you. As he said:

Long term, we obviously are engaged in research projects; we're obviously working with seed companies. Don't discount the capacity of the seed companies. These technologies do make a difference.

On the off-chance that in fact Monsanto isn't able to save us from the effects of climate change, we are going to need another strategy because the news lately has not been good. Bad news is never fun to read, but putting our heads in the sand on this issue only makes the potential impacts that much worse. So, here are five facts about the state of our planet that you should know. If we combine our knowledge with action we may have a fighting chance.

1. This is a record year for heat. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reported that, "June temperatures contributed to a record-warm first half of the year and the warmest 12-month period the nation has experienced since recordkeeping began in 1895." As a heatwave scorched the country in June, thousands of temperature records were broken in various places. The NCDC said highs of 113 degrees in South Carolina and 112 degrees in Georgia are under review for all-time state temperature records. 

It wasn't just hot in the U.S., it was the hottest June on record for the Northern Hemisphere (the third month in a row that has broken the all-time high) and globally averaged land temperatures were the highest as well. The record highs are becoming more frequent; so far, NASA has reported that nine of the 10 warmest years on record have all been since 2000. 

2. Over half the country is in drought. It's not just severe, it's expansive, and it's being called the worst drought in 50 years. The government's Drought Monitor map on July 24 had over 53 percent of the country experiencing moderate or worse drought and 38 percent in severe or worse drought. 

"This drought is two-pronged," said climatologist Brian Fuchs, a U.S. Drought Monitor author. "Not only the dryness but the heat is playing a big and important role. Even areas that have picked up rain are still suffering because of the heat." 

3. It's a disaster. The drought has hit Plains states and the Midwest particularly hard, affecting a large number of the country's farmers. The USDA has declared 1,369 counties in 31 states as disaster areas. Of those, 1,234 were the result of drought.

Food prices are expected to rise next year as a result. As James West writes for Climate Desk:

One estimate says that the US, the biggest player in the world corn market, could slash world corn supply by 60 billion tons as a result of the drought. Looking further afield, food prices in the US have a big impact not only on prices around the world, but also on the potential for social unrest in developing countries. 

4. Greenland has experienced unprecedented melting. You may not be planning on vacationing in Greenland anytime soon -- but what happens in the icy country has world-wide implications. NASA reported, "On average in the summer, about half of the surface of Greenland's ice sheet naturally melts. At high elevations, most of that melt water quickly refreezes in place. Near the coast, some of the melt water is retained by the ice sheet and the rest is lost to the ocean. But this year the extent of ice melting at or near the surface jumped dramatically." 

Scientists were stunned to learn that nearly the entirety (97 percent) of Greenland's ice sheet has shown signs of melting. To be clear, the whole icesheet has not completely melted into the ocean, but what's been observed is enough to raise a lot of concern. Seth Borenstein wrote for the AP:

About the same time, a giant iceberg broke off from the Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland. And the National Snow and Ice Data Center on Tuesday announced that the area filled with Arctic sea ice continues near a record low.

Wagner and other scientists said because this Greenland-wide melting has happened before they can't yet determine if this is a natural rare event or one triggered by man-made global warming. But they do know that the edges of Greenland's ice sheets have already been thinning because of climate change.

5. Get used to fires -- bigger, hotter, longer fires. As William DeBuys recently wrote for TomDispatch, "A lethal combination of drought, insect plagues, windstorms, and legions of dead, dying, or stressed-out trees constitute what some pundits are calling wildfire's 'perfect storm.'" But DeBuys cautions that it's not really a "storm" in the sense that it's not "sudden, violent, and temporary." No, the conditions that are feeding fire seasons are really what many scientists think will be the "new normal."

In June alone, the NCDC reported that over 1.3 million acres were burned by wildfires: 

By the end of June, wildfire activity exploded across much of the country, with 57 large wildfires burning. Six large fires were burning across the Virginias, North Carolina, and Tennessee, where dry conditions contributed to low 100-hour fuel moistures. Forty five large fires were active in the Intermountain West, from Arizona to Montana.

And it seems fires are on track to get even worse. As DeBuys writes: 

Big fires are four times more common than they used to be; the biggest fires are six-and-a-half times larger than the monster fires of yesteryear; and owing to a warmer climate, fires are erupting earlier in the spring and subsiding later in the fall. Nowadays, the fire season is two and a half months longer than it was 30 years ago.

As economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman recently wrote, "large-scale damage from climate change is no longer a disaster waiting to happen. It's happening now." 

Tara Lohan is a senior editor at AlterNet and editor of the new book Water Matters: Why We Need to Act Now to Save Our Most Critical Resource. You can follow her on Twitter @TaraLohan. 

http://www.alternet.org/environment/drought-blistering-temperatures-and-raging-fires-are-we-screwed-5-facts-you-should-know?paging=off 

 

Heat advisory upgraded to excessive heat warning in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas & Washington, D.C. shatters all-time June record high, sizzles to 104 29JUN12

IT is too hot for clothes!!!!

At a Glance

Fri

20%

-- | 101

Sat

30%

80 | 100

Sun

30%

76 | 100

Mon

30%

74 | 97

Tue

---

74 | 95

Wed

---

73 | 98

Forecast by
National Weather Service

RIGHT NOW

DCA | IAD | BWI

National Airport

• Weather: Partly Cloudy
• Temp: 100.0 F (37.8 C)
• Heat Index: 108 F (42 C)
• Wind: Northeast at 8.1 MPH
• Dew Point: 70.0 F
• Pressure: 1007.5 mb

Jun 29 2012, 12:52 pm EDT

---

---

90-degree days in 2012

11

Record: 67
(2010, 1980)
Average: 36

• Washington, D.C. ties record high of 101
• Disproportionate June record heat in last 25 years in Washington, D.C.
• Heat advisory upgraded to excessive heat warning in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas
• D.C. area forecast: Ready or not, here comes intense heat
• Vulnerable to extreme temperatures: CWG helped one charity help the homeless

Heat advisory upgraded to excessive heat warning in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas

By Jason Samenow

Areas in pink are under an excessive heat warning; all other areas are under a heat advisory today. An excessive heat watch is in effect for most of the area Saturday. (National Weather Service) The National Weather Service has upgraded today’s heat advisory to an excessive heat warning for Washington, D.C. and Baltimore and close-in suburbs. Temperatures are likely to be hotter than previously anticipated, prompting the more serious alert.
A heat advisory is issued when the heat index is forecast to reach 105, whereas an excessive heat warning is issued for hazardous heat indices of 110 or higher.
Link: Heat wave and hot weather guide
The advisory was not upgraded to a warning in the northern and eastern suburbs of D.C. (including Prince George’s, Montgomery, Howard, and Anne Arundel counties), nor in the suburbs of Baltimore - where heat indices may remain just under warning levels.

An excessive heat warning means a prolonged period of dangerous heat will occur. You are urged to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioning, stay out of the sun, and check on relatives and neighbors, especially older adults and the sick. Outdoor workers should take special precautions to reschedule strenuous activity to early and late in the day and hydrate liberally.

(UnisysWeather.com) Current temperatures support the upgrade. At 10:00 a.m., the temperature at Reagan National Airport had already risen to an incredible 96 degrees, 11 degrees higher the 9 a.m. temperature of 85. The heat index, factoring in humidity, was up to 101 degrees. (Note: Mark Richards, the weather observer at Reagan National Airport, said it was up to 97 at 10:10 a.m.)
The record high today of 101 at Reagan National airport, set in 1934, is likely to be threatened. The all-time June high of 102, set in 1874 and 2011 is also in jeopardy.
These conditions have arisen from massive, record-setting heat dome sprawled across the eastern half of the U.S. Heat advisories or heat warnings are in effect in 25 states and the District.

Washington, D.C. shatters all-time June record high, sizzles to 104

By Jason Samenow

* Excessive heat warning for Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and close-in suburbs | Officals warn of heat’s dangers | Heat guide *
UPDATE, 2:50 p.m.: Mark Richards, weather observer at Reagan National Airport, says the temperature at 2:48 p.m. hit 104, blowing by the old June record of 102 set on June 9 in both 1874 and 2011. We are now experiencing D.C.’s hottest June temperatures in 142 years of record-keeping.
UPDATE, 2 p.m.: The temperature at 2 p.m. climbed to 102, breaking the daily record of 101 set in 1934 and tying the all-time June record of 102 set on June 9, 1874 and 2011.
From 1 p.m.: At 12:48 p.m. ET, Reagan National airport (Washington, D.C.’s official observing station) touched 101 degrees, tying the record high for the date set in 1934. Dulles Airport has shattered its record high for the date of 95 (set in 1991), hitting 98 at 1 p.m.
These temperatures are likely to climb further this afternoon. D.C.’s all-time June monthly temperature record of 102 (set in 1874 and 2011) is likely to be matched if not broken.