The U.S. has a new system of earthquake early warnings that is going to be implemented up and down the entire West Coast next year, called ShakeAlert. According to the NBC article, "FEMA also believes that within the next 30 years, there is a 99.7 percent chance that California will experience an earthquake stronger than 6.7, and a 10 percent chance the Pacific Northwest will experience another 8.0-9.0 megaquake, like the one seen in 1700." ShakeAlert will first be implemented in Los Angeles coming January 2018, where the earthquake would do the most damage. However, under new administration, some of the funding for ShakeAlert (which operates under the USGS) has been cut, despite its bipartisan support. Funding has been cut by $46 million. This leaves it with an operating budget of $1 billion, which means it can still operate another year.
After the recent devastating earthquakes in Mexico, the reality of earthquake preparedness is in full force. Mexico's earthquake early warning system saved tens of thousands of lives, and a similar system could do the same in the U.S.. If FEMA's prediction is accurate, which is most likely is, we should be doing everything possible to prepare for a massive earthquake. The implications for the environment are disastrous, but at least we can save as many human lives as possible.
0 Comments
President Trump has called 27 national monuments (land set aside by the government because of its cultural, historical or scientific value) under review regarding their status. The issue is the size, according to the Department of the Interior Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. He says that he will recommend to President Trump that none of them be abolished altogether, however, he will be recommending that some of them be downsized. Some are worried about the power unilaterally awarded over land that can be up to, in cases such as Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, three times the size of Rhode Island. This debate is not a new one. Farmers and ranchers have always been opposed to national monuments, arguing that it's a waste of land that could be used to grow/raise food. On the opposite end of the spectrum, conversationalists say that if Trump tries to go through with pushing back the borders of these monuments, they will go to court.
But what does this mean for the environment? There is something to be said for the issue of one government body having solitary control over such massive amounts of land. It could be seen as a violation of the agreements of federalism. However, these monuments are important pieces of land for preserving the environment and wildlife, as well as the cultural/historical significance they hold. If they were taken over by farmland, that would be disastrous for the ecosystems. And as has been proven time and again, once nature is taken over by farmland, there's often no getting it back. With the hurricane crises in Texas and now Florida, the media and government attention has been focused largely on the south over the past few months. However, an equally media-worthy weather catastrophe has been sweeping the western United States. In Montana, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Utah, more than 24,000 firefighters have been fighting 137 fires over the course of six months. Eight of those firefighters have died. Despite heavy rainfall last winter, these western states are still in recovery from droughts, which has lent to the severity of the fires. In Montana, thousands of acres of crops and land have been destroyed, driving farmers who have been in the area for generations away. In Washington, Governor Jay Inslee issued a state of emergency in 21 counties and schools have been closed due to the air quality. In California, Los Angeles was forced to declare a state of emergency during the La Tuna fire in early September.
These are just some of the specifics of how the west has been affected by fires. The government isn't able to divert its full attention and resources to helping these states solve the problem of fires, due to the simultaneous hurricane disasters happening in the south. However, these fires will have catastrophic effects on the environment. The air quality will be further tarnished by the smoke, and it will take years to get back the vegetation that would help restore the air quality faster. People are being driven from their homes and losing their livelihoods in the form of land and businesses. Wildlife also has nowhere to go, because in many cases once they are driven out of their forest habitat all that's left to run into is cities and suburbs. It is imperative that the fires be contained, however, it is well past the end of the typical fire season and the blazes are showing no signs of stopping. Now that Hurricane Harvey's devastating winds and rains have passed on from Texas, the hard part begins: assessing the damage. One of the biggest problems in Houston and surrounding areas in the aftermath of the hurricane is found in the damage done to factories and industrial plants. The lids on many fuel tanks have been compromised, as well as the spike in air pollution required to restart many of the factories that were shut down due to the storms. Since August 25th, "more than 5 million pounds of air pollutants have been released beyond the normally permitted emissions, according to a review of industrial companies' filings with the state's environmental authority by Neil Carman, a scientist who spent 12 years in enforcement at the state agency and now works with the Sierra Club." Additionally, Texas governor Greg Abbott has agreed to suspend various regulations and relax the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's requirements. Therefore, many pollutants being released and/or spilled may not even be factored into the data.
As many families return to Houston to try and rebuild their lives, they may be facing a danger just as great as the storm. Many of the pollutants that are being released from industrial plants are linked to various cancers and diseases. Exposure to air pollution can also cause non-lethal ailments such as asthma. While the effects of the pollution won't be felt immediately, they will cause many long term problems as people migrate back into the area. The pollutants cause problems for the natural environment as well as the human population. Many pollutants have spilled into the local waterways, as well as the water that is draining back into the ocean that has collected pollutants after swirling around the city. As Texas proceeds with the rebuilding process in the wake of the hurricane, they must be sure to be mindful of the pollution that restarting their industry will cause. If not, they may be facing a crisis just as big as a hurricane in years to come. |