Chemical Reaction
From The New Republic: Harvey Has Morphed into a Multi-Pronged Environmental Disaster. “At first, it was just another thing to worry about. Hurricane Harvey was headed straight toward the heart of America’s petrochemical industry, where dozens of refineries and chemical plants sit next to vulnerable communities. There were forecasts of biblical rainfall, which experts predicted could flood facilities and cause accidental toxic substance releases, or worse, explosions. If multiple plants shut down at once, there could be huge emissions of harmful air pollutants. And if too much rain fell on the region’s Superfund sites, they could overflow, threatening human health. It’s been nearly a week since Harvey first made landfall in Texas, and all of these things have happened.”
+ As the waters begin to pull back, Texas has seen chemical plant explosions and other unnatural disasters. And, don’t look now, there’s a storm called Irma that could be on the way. Here’s the latest from The Guardian.
+ “Everybody told them to stay, that they had already done their part. But they said, ‘No, we have to go back, there’s a lot of people in danger.'” Two volunteer rescuers were killed in the flooding.
+ The Colonial Pipeline has been shut down, cutting off a major Southeast fuel line. That will mean higher gas prices. To keep up with the energy side of the story, follow my friend Jason Bordoff (Director of Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy) on Twitter.
+ The Atlantic: “The Earth system is getting warmer. Water is evaporating faster. There’s more of it in the air. It’s moving through the system faster. As a result, the coming centuries will play out under a new atmospheric regime, one with more extreme rain, falling in patterns unfamiliar to those around which civilization has grown.” The Strange Future Hurricane Harvey Portends. While we can expect worse weather, we’re at least getting a lot better at saving lives during hurricanes.
+ Bloomberg: Harvey Wasn’t Just Bad Weather. It Was Bad City Planning.
+ And if you missed it yesterday: A Real President Addresses Texas.