7 million children across DRC out of school

DRC: “African World War,” Chronic Corruption and Poor Governance Severely Impact Schooling

More than a quarter of the primary school-aged children and two-third of adolescents not enrolled in classes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – November 14

[November 14, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,584 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

DRC is still struggling to overcome the effects of wars that raged between 1996 and 2003, compounded by continuing violence in the east of the country and decades of corruption and poor governance.

• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). About seven million children across DER (pop: 71,712,867; 18th largest) are out of schools.
• DRC is the second largest country in Africa (area: 2,345,409 km²) and 11th largest in the world.
• The country has not yet overcome the impact of two devastating wars, also known as “African World War,” that raged between 1996 and 2003 and involved seven foreign militaries.
• The effect of the wars have been compounded by ongoing violence in the east of the country and chronic corruption.
• Congo’s second war is the world’s deadliest since WWII, claiming 5.4 million lives, most of whom died from diseases and malnutrition.
• The prevalence of rape and other sexual violence in eastern Congo is the worst in the world.
• Poverty and weak governance are two of the major contributing factors.
• Another factor that compounds the problem is the use of school land by private developers, especially in urban areas, IRIN reported.
• “Many of the public schools in existence are in deplorable conditions; no blackboards in many of them; in some, children sit on the floor due to lack of desks, and the most worrying concern is encroachment on school land by individuals, many of whom are connected politically,” according to SOS Kinshasa, an NGO based in the capital.
• “One can find a pharmacy, restaurant or even bar right in the middle of a school compound—it looks like all open spaces in schools are up for grabs.”
• UK. The levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution in 40 of 43 “assessment zones” set up across the UK exceed the EU limits, a report said.
• Air pollution in the UK takes up to eight months off Britons’ life expectancy.
• “But for the 200,000 people most directly affected, the shortfall is two years.”
• Bad air quality is also costing the country up to $32 bn (UKP20bn) per year via poor health.
• “It is estimated that around 4,000 people died as a result of the Great Smog of London [aka, 'pea-souper'] in 1952.”
• “In 2008, 4,000 people died in London from air pollution and 30,000 died across the whole of the UK.” The report said.
• Vehicle exhausts, tires and brakes emissions are the major sources of airborne particles.

Related Links

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – November
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Wallow Fire – June 13 Update

Wallow Fire is 10 percent contained: Official report

Wallow Fire official summary:

• Date/Time: June 13, 2011, at 1:18 p.m.
• Source: Area Command 3
• Location: Apache, Navajo, Graham, and Greenlee counties; San Carlos and White Mountain Apache Reservations, Ariz.; Catron County, N.M.  
• Injuries to Date: 7
• Total Personnel: 4,349, including 23 hotshot crews and 78 hand crews
• Date Started: 05/29/2011
• Cause: Human – under investigation
• Residences: 2,714 threatened; 31 destroyed; 5 damaged
• Commercial Property: 473 threatened; 4 destroyed
• Resources: 20 Helicopters, 5 Air Tankers available; 347 Engines; 70 Water Tenders; 22 Dozers
• Outbuildings: 1,216 threatened; 36 destroyed; 1 damaged;
• Vehicles: 1 destroyed.
• Size:  452,155 acres total
• Percent Contained: 10%

[ FIRE-EARTH size estimate for Wallow Fire: ~ 520,000 acres burned as of posting.]

Wallow Fire Map – June 13, 2011.

Progression of the Wallow Fire as of June 13, 2011 [Based on data obtained on June 12, 2011.]  Click image to enlarge. All rights reserved by Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests

The Volcano-like Wallow Fire

Photo by Dean Fernandez with the Southwest Area Incident Management Team. Credit: US Forest Service, Apache Sitgreaves National Forest

Wallow Fire  as Seen by MODIS on the Terra Satellite

Wallow Fire as seen by MODIS on the Terra satellite on June 9 at 10:55 am MST. Active fire areas are outlined in red. The fire was more intense, producing less smoke than the previous day. Click image to enlarge.

Arizona Burn Scars Seen From Space

Imagery from the Landsat-7 satellite shows two glimpses of the same area: one taken on May 5, 2011 and the other on June 7, 2011. In the image from May 5, green areas indicate healthy vegetation and grasslands, light pink areas are naturally occurring rock or bare land. In the image from June 7, the red color indicates burned areas. In some cases, “hot” pink colors can also be seen along with smoke – these are active fire areas. Data from Landsat, a NASA-USGS partnership that was formerly managed by NOAA, is frequently used by NOAA for assessing land cover changes, especially in coastal and wetland ares. Copyright: NOAA [NOTE: FIRE-EARTH cannot confirm copyright validity.]  View High Resolution Version

 

Related Links

• Who needs volcanoes in Arizona

• Wallow Mega Fire – June 11 Update
• Wallow Fire Now Largest in Arizona History
• Who’s Afraid of Wildfires
• Wallow Fire Set to Become Largest in Arizona History
• Wallow Fire Now Arizona’s 2nd Largest, and Growing
• Arizona’s Wallow Fire Grew by 61 pct
• Wildfires Raging in Arizona, Alaska, NC, Georgia, Texas …
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – June 4

Who needs volcanoes in Arizona

Wallow Mega Fire – June 12

Smoke from Wallow Fire more like a volcanic eruption

Air pollution from human enhanced natural events and anthropogenic causes could kill/seriously harm tens of millions of people: FIRE-EARTH

Mega Fire Burns Near Hannagan Meadow

Show Low Fire Engine 311 Stands by as the Wallow Fire burns near Hannagan Meadow. Photo by Firefighter Chris Francis. Credit US Forest Service.

Wallow Fire Progression Map June 11, 2011

Progression of the Wallow Fire as of Saturday, June 11, 2011 [Based on data obtained on June 10, 2011.]  Click image to enlarge.

Hazard Mapping System for Fire and Smoke [June 11-12, 2011]

Current HMS Analysis, Source: NOAA

Map Analyzed Fires from Satellites – June 12, 2011

Source: NOAA. Click images to enlarge.

Closeup Map of Analyzed Fires from Satellites

Map of the Critical Fire Weather Area – June 12, 2011.

Public Safety
State of Arizona says air quality in the Springerville-Eagar area is currently considered extremely hazardous. Residents with respiratory problems in the path of smoke may want to consider relocating temporarily until air quality improves. Motorists should exercise caution due to reduced visibility.

On Friday the PM2.5 concentration over eastern Arizona was more than 40 times higher than the federal health standard. By Saturday although the winds had swept most of the particulate pollution, the PM2.5 pollution was still 20 times the limit.

The outlook for Sunday was grim, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality said.

Entering the Twilight Zone

Eager, AZ just after evacuations. Wallow Fire, Arizona, 2011. Photo taken by Kari Greer for NIFC. Credit: US Forest Service. Click image to enlarge.

Wallow Fire Official Update (Source:  Area Command 3 Team)

• Posted:  June 11, 2011, at 8:50 p.m.
• Location: Apache, Navajo, Graham, and Greenlee Counties, Arizona
• Date Started: 05/29/2011
• Cause: Human – under investigation
• Aviation Resources: 15 Helicopters, 5 Air Tankers available, plus a DC-10
• Injuries to Date: 6
• Total Personnel: 3,208 (Includes 20 hotshot crews; 45 hand crews)
• Residences: 2,714 threatened; 29 destroyed;5 damaged
• Commercial Property: 473 threatened; 4 destroyed
• Outbuildings: 34 destroyed; 1 damaged
• Other: 1 vehicle
• Size: 430,171 acres  [Bulletin issued on June 11, 2011, at 11:13 a.m.]
• Percent Contained: 5%

[NOTE: FIRE-EARTH estimate for Wallow Fire: ~ 510,000 acres burned as of posting.]

Current Evacuations
Full evacuation of Eagar and Springerville continues due to fire activity and health risks associated with air quality.

Sunrise, Greer, Blue River, Alpine, Nutrioso, and the following subdivisions along highways 180/191:

• Escudilla Mountain Estates, Bonita, White Mtn. Acres, and the H-V Ranch.
• This area includes County Road (CR) 4000, CR 4001, and CR 4225.
• There have been no new evacuations in New Mexico.

Smoke and Fire Warnings

• Red Flag Warning [NWS]

Latest Radar And Satellite Images

• Tucson AZ Base Reflectivity Radar

Goes West IR satellite image – 12 June 2011 at 04:30UTC

The Smoke Track

Projected surface Smoke Concentration, NM

Source: NWS. Click images to enlarge.

Weather hazard Forecast

US Weather hazard Forecast Map (June 12, 2011)

Wallow Fire  as Seen by MODIS on the Terra Satellite

Wallow Fire as seen by MODIS on the Terra satellite on June 9 at 10:55 am MST. Active fire areas are outlined in red. The fire was more intense, producing less smoke than the previous day. Click image to enlarge.

Arizona Burn Scars Seen From Space

Imagery from the Landsat-7 satellite shows two glimpses of the same area: one taken on May 5, 2011 and the other on June 7, 2011. In the image from May 5, green areas indicate healthy vegetation and grasslands, light pink areas are naturally occurring rock or bare land. In the image from June 7, the red color indicates burned areas. In some cases, “hot” pink colors can also be seen along with smoke – these are active fire areas. Data from Landsat, a NASA-USGS partnership that was formerly managed by NOAA, is frequently used by NOAA for assessing land cover changes, especially in coastal and wetland ares. Copyright: NOAA [NOTE: FIRE-EARTH cannot confirm copyright validity.]  View High Resolution Version

Murphy Complex Update (Source:  Northern Arizona Incident Management Team)

• Time/Date Started: 3:28 pm, May 30, 2011 
• Location: Nogales Ranger District in the Coronado National Forest, Five miles east of Arivaca, Arizona and four miles west of Tubac, Arizona
• Cause: Human-caused. Under investigation.
• Fuels: Grass, shrub, oak, mesquite
• Size: 68,078 acres
• Percent Contained: 90%
  
• Estimated Cost to Date: $4,800,000 Resources Threatened: Areas surrounding Ruby Road.
• Structures Lost: Historic Atascosa Lookout in the Atascosa Mountains and an outhouse at Pena Blanca Lake.

The Coronado National Forest and Chiricahua National Monument are closed due to extreme fire danger and concern for public safety.

Horseshoe Two Fire summary (Posted June 11, 2011, at 9:35 am MST)

The Coronado National Forest and Chiricahua National Monument are closed due to extreme fire danger and concern for public safety.

• Date started: May 8, 2011
• Number of Personnel: 1,153
• Location: Portal, Ariz.
• Crews: 9 Type 1 and 19 Type 2
• Size: 134,615 acres
• Engines: 52
• Percent Contained: 45%
• Dozers: 3
• Cause: Human
• Water Tenders: 34
• Estimated Containment: June 22, 2011
• Helicopters: 4 Type 1, 1 Type 2 and 2 Type 3
• Total structures destroyed: 23
• Cost to Date: $34,475,754
• Source: Rocky Basin Type-2 Incident Management Team

Related Links

• Wallow Mega Fire – June 11 Update
• Wallow Fire Now Largest in Arizona History
• Who’s Afraid of Wildfires
• Wallow Fire Set to Become Largest in Arizona History
• Wallow Fire Now Arizona’s 2nd Largest, and Growing
• Arizona’s Wallow Fire Grew by 61 pct
• Wildfires Raging in Arizona, Alaska, NC, Georgia, Texas …
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – June 4

UK Smog Triggers Air Quality Warnings

The United Kingdom Cloaked in Toxic Haze

Satellite images showing the UK suffocating in a lethal cocktail of chemicals, particulate matter, dust and dirt particles trapped by a high-pressure system.

The United Kingdom was draped by a pall of smog on April 22, 2011, when  MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite took this photo-like image. The toxic haze,  foretasted to persist through at least Sunday, April 24, has reportedly triggered air quality warnings in England and Wales, NASA-EO reported. Click image to enlarge.

The smog over United Kingdom and Ireland was even more visible a day earlier.  United Kingdom and Ireland Subset – Image by MODIS on Aqua satellite 1km res photo-like  image for April 21, 2011. Click image to enlarge.  Click HERE for largest image.

A view of central London from Parliament Hill (Hampstead Heath, north London, UK)  on April 22, 2011. Photo: AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

Pollution Kills, OK?

Motor vehicles are a major source of ground level ozone and smog. Ozone can inflame the lung’s lining, and repeated episodes of inflammation may cause permanent changes in the lung. (Left) A healthy lung airway and,  (right) an inflamed lung airway. Source EPA.

Related Links

• How Big is Your CO2 Dome?
• Carbon Footprint of Your Dollar

• World Without Superpowers a Better Place?
• China haze, temperature inversion, poor air quality
• China Under Siege
• HK Air Pollution = Lower Visibility + Higher Mortality

Pollution Kills, OK?

Growing evidence pollution causes heart attacks, strokes

Burning fossil fuels like oil, coal, gasoline and natural gas produces fine particulate matter, which damages heart and causes stroke, American Heart Association says.

Smog! Source EPA Report: Smog—Who Does It Hurt?

The following is a public information release by American Heart Association:

Evidence growing of air pollution’s link to heart disease, death

The scientific evidence linking air pollution to heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular death has “substantially strengthened,” and people, particularly those at high cardiovascular risk, should limit their exposure, according to an updated American Heart Association scientific statement.

The evidence is strongest for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) having a causal relationship to cardiovascular disease, said the expert panel of authors who updated the association’s 2004 initial statement on air pollution, also published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The major source of PM2.5 is fossil fuel combustion from industry, traffic, and power generation. Biomass burning, heating, cooking, indoor activities and forest fires may also be relevant sources, particularly in certain regions.

“Particulate matter appears to directly increase risk by triggering events in susceptible individuals within hours to days of an increased level of exposure, even among those who otherwise may have been healthy for years,” said Robert D. Brook, M.D., lead author of the statement, which was written after review of epidemiological, molecular and toxicological studies published during the past six years.

Motor vehicles are a major source of ground level ozone and smog.

“Growing evidence also shows that longer-term PM2.5 exposures, such as over a few years, can lead to an even larger increase in these health risks. In this context, the American Heart Association said that PM2.5 should be recognized as a ‘modifiable factor’ that contributes to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.”

In the statement, the panel also concluded that there’s a:

• “small yet consistent” association between short-term exposure to air pollution and premature death;
• strong level of evidence supporting a relationship between air pollution and ischemic heart disease;
• “moderate, yet growing link” between air pollution and heart failure and ischemic stroke;
• “modest” level of evidence supporting an association between air pollution and peripheral vascular diseases, irregular heartbeats and cardiac arrest.

The elderly and those with existing heart diseases, such as heart failure or coronary artery disease, and perhaps those with diabetes appear to be at higher risk from short-term PM2.5 exposure.

“The foremost message for these high-risk groups remains that they should work to control their modifiable traditional risk factors – blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking,” said Brook, a cardiovascular medicine specialist and associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

There are several ways by which PM2.5 could affect the cardiovascular system; however, one leading explanation suggests that several components of PM2.5, once inhaled, can cause inflammation and irritate nerves in the lungs. These responses can start a cascade of changes that adversely affect the rest of the body, Brook said.

Ozone can inflame the lung’s lining, and repeated episodes of inflammation may cause permanent changes in the lung. (Left) A healthy lung airway and,  (right) an inflamed lung airway. Source EPA.

“It’s possible that certain very small particles, or chemicals that travel with them, may reach the circulation and cause direct harm,” Brook said. “The lung nerve-fiber irritation can also disrupt the balance of the nervous system throughout the body. These responses can increase blood clotting and thrombosis, impair vascular function and blood flow, elevate blood pressure, and disrupt proper cardiac electrical activity which may ultimately provoke heart attacks, strokes, or even death.

“These studies also indicate that there is no ‘safe’ level of PM2.5 exposure,” he said.

Recommendations include:

• Physicians should emphasize treatment of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, which may lessen patients’ susceptibility to air pollution.
• All patients with cardiovascular disease should be educated about the risks of air pollution.
• Healthcare professionals should consider educating patients without cardiovascular disease but who are at high risk, such as the elderly, individuals with metabolic syndrome or multiple risk factors and those with diabetes.
• Based on air pollution levels, as forecasted by the Air Quality Index available in many media sources, recommendations for methods to reduce exposure and limit activity should be followed depending on the patient’s level of risk.

Reducing exposure to air pollution takes effort at the population level by implementing national policies as well as at the individual level, Brook said. “People can limit their exposure as much as possible by decreasing their time outside when particle levels are high and reducing time spent in traffic – a common source of exposure in today’s world.”

###

Editor’s Notes:

• Downloadable stock footage and animation, including video of the environment and outdoor physical activity, are available at www.americanheart.mediaroom.com, click on “Multimedia Resources.”
• Visit www.heart.org/airpollution for more information on air pollution and heart disease.
• For national and local air quality index information, including current levels of PM2.5 in your area, visit www.airnow.gov.
• For more information on air pollution research visit http://www.epa.gov/airscience/; for more on particulate matter pollution visit http://www.epa.gov/pm/.
• Contact: Maggie Francis: maggie.francis@heart.org — American Heart Association

Related Link:

• The Eight Steps that Help Kill More of Our Fish
• Winter Olympics: With Glowing Hearts Burning to CO2 and Soot
• If the next surgeon general won’t tell you that AIR POLLUTION KILLS, he ain’t worth nominating

• Doctors Talk Climate, Finally

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Serial No 1,710. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).

How Big is Your CO2 Dome?

Urban CO2 domes increase deaths

Public release: Stanford University

Everyone knows that carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas driving climate change, is a global problem. Now a Stanford study has shown it is also a local problem, hurting city dwellers’ health much more than rural residents’, because of the carbon dioxide “domes” that develop over urban areas. That finding, said researcher Mark Z. Jacobson, exposes a serious oversight in current cap-and-trade proposals for reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases, which make no distinction based on a pollutant’s point of origin. The finding also provides the first scientific basis for controlling local carbon dioxide emissions based on their local health impacts.

“Not all carbon dioxide emissions are equal,” said Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering. “As in real estate, location matters.”

His results also support the case that California presented to the Environmental Protection Agency in March, 2009, asking that the state be allowed to establish its own CO₂ emission standards for vehicles.

Jacobson, director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford, testified on behalf of California’s waiver application in March, 2009. The waiver had previously been denied, but was reconsidered and granted subsequently. The waiver is currently being challenged in court by industry interests seeking to overturn it.

Jacobson found that domes of increased carbon dioxide concentrations – discovered to form above cities more than a decade ago – cause local temperature increases that in turn increase the amounts of local air pollutants, raising concentrations of health-damaging ground-level ozone, as well as particles in urban air.

In modeling the health impacts for the contiguous 48 states, for California and for the Los Angeles area, he determined an increase in the death rate from air pollution for all three regions compared to what the rate would be if no local carbon dioxide were being emitted.

The results of Jacobson’s study are presented in a paper published online by Environmental Science and Technology.

The cap-and-trade proposal passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2009 puts a limit on the amount of greenhouse gases that each type of utility, manufacturer or other emitter is allowed to produce. It also puts a price tag on each ton of emissions, which emitters will have to pay to the federal government.

If the bill passes the Senate intact, it will allow emitters to freely trade or sell their allowances among themselves, regardless of where the pollution is emitted.

With that logic, the proposal prices a ton of CO₂ emitted in the middle of the sparsely populated Great Plains, for example, the same as a ton emitted in Los Angeles, where the population is dense and the air quality already poor.

“The cap-and-trade proposal assumes there is no difference in the impact of carbon dioxide, regardless of where it originates,” Jacobson said. “This study contradicts that assumption.”

“It doesn’t mean you can never do something like cap and trade,” he added. “It just means that you need to consider where the CO₂ emissions are occurring.”

Jacobson’s study is the first to look at the health impacts of carbon dioxide domes over cities and his results are relevant to future air pollution regulations. Current regulations do not address the local impacts of local carbon dioxide emissions. For example, no regulation considers the local air pollution effects of CO₂ that would be emitted by a new natural gas power plant. But those effects should be considered, he said.

“There has been no control of carbon dioxide because it has always been thought that CO₂ is a global problem, that it is only its global impacts that might feed back to air pollution,” Jacobson said.

In addition to the changes he observed in local air pollutants, Jacobson found that there was increased stability of the air column over a city, which slowed the dispersal of pollutants, further adding to the increased pollutant concentrations.

Jacobson estimated an increase in premature mortality of 50 to 100 deaths per year in California and 300 to 1,000 for the contiguous 48 states.

“This study establishes a basis for controlling CO₂ based on local health impacts,” he said.

Current estimates of the annual air pollution-related death toll in the U.S. is 50-100,000.

Related Links:

• 133,000,000 Wise Monkeys
• Carbon Footprint of Your Dollar

Air Pollution Kills

WARNING! Air Pollution Kills

If the next surgeon general won’t tell you that AIR POLLUTION KILLS, he ain’t worth nominating

As if some of us needed reminding:

Six in ten U.S. residents—about 186 million people—live in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution, the American Lung Association reported.

The following are excerpts from the American Lung Association’s recently published State of the Air 2009 report. 

• Six out of ten people (61.7%) in the United States population lives in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution. Almost 186.1 million Americans live in the 525 counties where they are exposed to unhealthful levels of air pollution in the form of either ozone or short-term or year-round levels of particles.

• Roughly six out of ten people in the United States—58 percent—live in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone. This reflects the much lower threshold for unhealthy ozone as well as warmer temperatures in much of the eastern U.S.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Notes:
(1) Cities are ranked using the highest weighted average for any county within that metropolitan statistical area.
(2) Total Population represents the at-risk populations for all counties within the respective Combined Statistical Area or Metropolitan Statistical Area.
(3) Those 18 & under and 65 & over are vulnerable to PM2.5 and are, therefore, included. They should not be used as population denominators for disease estimates.
(4) Pediatric asthma estimates are for those under 18 years of age and represent the estimated number of people who had asthma in 2007 based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(5) Adult asthma estimates are for those 18 years and older and represent the estimated number of people who had asthma during 2007 based on state rates (BRFSS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(6) Chronic bronchitis estimates are for adults 18 and over who had been diagnosed in 2007, based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(7) Emphysema estimates are for adults 18 and over who have been diagnosed within their lifetime, based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(8) CV disease estimates are based on National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) estimates of cardiovascular disease applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(9) Diabetes estimates are for adults 18 and over who have been diagnosed within their lifetime, based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(10) Adding across rows does not produce valid estimates, e.g., summing pediatric and adult asthma and/or emphysema and chronic bronchitis. [Image and Notes from American Lung Association's  State of the Air 2009 report. Copyright American Lung Association.]

Notes:
(1) Cities are ranked using the highest design value for any county within that metropolitan statistical area.
(2) Total Population represents the at-risk populations for all counties within the respective Combined Statistical Area or Metropolitan Statistical Area.
(3) Those 18 & under and 65 & over are vulnerable to PM2.5 and are, therefore, included. They should not be used as population denominators for disease estimates.
(4) Pediatric asthma estimates are for those under 18 years of age and represent the estimated number of people who had asthma in 2007 based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(5) Adult asthma estimates are for those 18 years and older and represent the estimated number of people who had asthma during 2007 based on state rates (BRFSS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(6) Chronic bronchitis estimates are for adults 18 and over who had been diagnosed in 2007, based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(7) Emphysema estimates are for adults 18 and over who have been diagnosed within their lifetime, based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(8) CV disease estimates are based on National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) estimates of cardiovascular disease applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(9) Diabetes estimates are for adults 18 and over who have been diagnosed within their lifetime, based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(10) Adding across rows does not produce valid estimates, e.g., summing pediatric and adult asthma and/or emphysema and chronic bronchitis. [Image and Notes from American Lung Association's  State of the Air 2009 report. Copyright American Lung Association.]

Notes:
(1) Cities are ranked using the highest weighted average for any county within that metropolitan statistical area. (2) Total Population represents the at-risk populations for all counties within the respective Combined Statistical Area or Metropolitan Statistical Area.
(3) Those 18 & under and 65 & over are vulnerable to PM2.5 and are, therefore, included. They should not be used as population denominators for disease estimates.
(4) Pediatric asthma estimates are for those under 18 years of age and represent the estimated number of people who had asthma in 2007 based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(5) Adult asthma estimates are for those 18 years and older and represent the estimated number of people who had asthma during 2007 based on state rates (BRFSS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(6) Chronic bronchitis estimates are for adults 18 and over who had been diagnosed in 2007, based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(7) Emphysema estimates are for adults 18 and over who have been diagnosed within their lifetime, based on national rates (NHIS) applied to county population estimates (U.S. Census).
(8) Adding across rows does not produce valid estimates, e.g., summing pediatric and adult asthma and/or emphysema and chronic bronchitis. [Image and Notes from American Lung Association's  State of the Air 2009 report. Copyright American Lung Association.]

Stop Polluting Our Air!

Direct action protesters try to stop UK coal-fired power plant for a day

About a 1,000 climate protesters, who aimed to stop the output at Kingsnorth coal-fired power station for a day, demonstrated outside the plant in southeast England on Saturday.

Nearly 2,000 police and civilian security personnel surrounded the protesters. Police in riot gears brandishing batons charged at the protesters and arrested about 50 people.

“We just want to try and send a message to people that we don’t want any more new coal … it’s something that’s not going to help our future at all,” said Helen Atkinson, 26, a medical photographer from Cumbria, northwest England. (Source)

Kingsnorth power station is a 1,985-megawatt dual-fired coal or oil power station in Medway, Kent, England, on the Hoo Peninsula. Licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation. Credit: Clem Rutter; via Wikimedia Commons.

E.ON the German owned company that operates Kingsnorth is planning to construct two new “cleaner coal” units on the Kingsnorth site, which it claims will be 20 percent less polluting than conventional power stations. They would be the first coal-fired power stations to be built in Britain for 24 years. AFP reported.

Police surround protesters during a sitdown protest at the gates of Kingsnorth Power Station near Rochester in Kent, southeast England August 9, 2008. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor. Image may be subject to copyright.

Police and private mercenary agents confront protesters in front of of Kingsnorth Power Station near Rochester in Kent, southeast England August 9, 2008. UK Indymedia. Image may be subject to copyright.

In police heavy-handedness we trust! UK Indymedia. Image may be subject to copyright.

I need clean air! Why are you arresting me? (Photo AFP). Image may be subject to copyright.

[I'll give you clean air, you basta*d!] Police restrain a protester in front of the gates of Kingsnorth Power Station near Rochester in Kent, southeast England August 9, 2008. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor. Image may be subject to copyright.

Fair Use Notice!

Images of the Day: The Ghost of Tiananmen Returns

Haze returns to Beijing with only 4 days to Olympics

Beijing Olympic Games banners hang from poles along along a main road as cars drive past on a hazy day in Beijing July 28, 2008. REUTERS/David Gray. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair use Notice!

Image of the Day: Flight Madness

The Urge to Pollute the Air: An Acute Mental Illness?

Customers wait in line after a computer glitch crippled the baggage handling system at the American Airlines’ Terminal 8 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport July 30, 2008. REUTERS/Joshua Lott. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair use Notice!

Flying-General (Emissions from a single passenger)

(Source) The average passenger miles per gallon for a domestic or international trip originating in the U.S. equals 33.4, according to “Transportation, Energy, and the Environment”, Section A – U.S. Energy Consumption and Transportation Sector Energy Consumption, Table 4-21. (Note that this is not much better than the average automobile, if driven with only one occupant.)

Burning a gallon of jet fuel releases 21.095 lbs of CO2. Combining these two factors:

(Source)

Based on the Climate Neutral Network’s analysis, an additional 8% has added to the total to account for the emissions associated with the upstream refining of jet fuel. The result is that 1.36 lbs. of CO2e are created for each passenger mile traveled (0.63 x 2 plus 8%). It is important to note that many carbon calculators on the Internet, do not account for these additional emissions and hence, significantly underestimate total Greenhouse Gas emissions. (Source)

[Note: The 'upstream' CO2 footprint could be as much as 31.35% which includes extraction of crude oil, transport to refinery, refining to jet fuel, transport to airports, storage, etc. making a grand total of about 1.66 lbs. (751g) of CO2e for each passenger mile traveled.]

Related Links:

• Photos Album
• How Your Pollution is Calculated

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Stop Unnecessary Air Travel!

Use Videoconferencing!

Following our organization’s strong condemnation of the United Nations and its Secretary General for their “addiction” to the “carbon habit,” getting endless fixes through flying tens of millions of miles each year, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has now taken the lead on condemning the business world’s unbridled flying habits. More…

Related Links:

• Stop Flying in the Face of the Poor!
• Eco-Terrorism

• Cyprus Collapse May Be Imminent!
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

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UPDATE #2 – California Fires

California Inferno Rages On

Wildfires are an indispensable tool in Nature’s cycle-of-life toolbox. But … the fires must not be allowed to burn naturally!! Click Here!

What People Said:

• California is reaching a “tipping point.” We need federal help, including military resources, said the mighty Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declared a state-wide drought in June amid two years of low rainfall.

• Humanoids’ ignorance of Nature’s defense mechanisms hasn’t improved in 12,000 years! Take the California’s wildfires, for example. Tackling the wildfires has become strictly a Freudian affair. ~ A Member of Creating A Sustainable Future (CASF).

A firefighter with the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District talks on his radio as a spot fire burns through trees and brush July 10, 2008 in Concow, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

• About 1,300 square miles (3,366 square kilometers), or 0.8 percent of the entire state, an area larger than Rhode Island, has been consumed in California since June 21, said Cal Fire. [The scorched land area is the largest in size in California's wildfire history.]

• For first time in 30 years, California National Guard lends hand against wildfires, said abc News.

• “I am ordering 2,000 additional California National Guard personnel to boost our firefighting forces,” said Schwarzenegger.

• Burning embers – pinecones and bark chunks as big as baseballs – were thrown a quarter of a mile ahead of the primary wall of flames, creating spot fires. “You can’t see out a quarter mile,” Brown said. “When you find the new fire, it’s already a big fire.” Said SFGate

• “In my district, about 40 more homes were confirmed destroyed and there has been at least one death where a person refused to evacuate,” said Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly.

• “[The California's fires] are unprecedented in size and number … [State authorities] have essentially exhausted all of their internal resources; eighty percent of all the federal resources are committed to California right now.” Said Glenn Cannon, assistant administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

A mountain bike is one of the few items recognizable at a home in the Camelot subdivision in Concow, Calif. Chronicle photo by Paul Chinn. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

• The fires have killed two firefighters, injured 262, consumed 752,944 acres and have costs $325.7 million to fight. The fires threaten about 15,500 homes and structures across California, according to the state and federal fire reports.

• Some 19,704 firefighters and support personnel from 41 states are quenching 322 fires across California, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire.

• Mexican and Canadian crews are also helping the US firefighters, said Mark Rey, undersecretary of natural resources and the environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• The Butte blaze threatens 3,800 homes and structures, said Justin Scribner, a spokesman for Cal Fire. “We were trying to conduct a planned burning operation, with crews in place to hold the lines, but the winds picked up, and we weren’t able to stop it.”

• The Butte fire has scorched about 49,000 acres (19,600 hectares), 60 structures, and caused $40.5 million in damages, according to Cal Fire and the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

This image of the combined fires was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on July 10, 2008.

Carbon Dioxide Is a Fire Retardant (!)

• Homeland Security (!) Sec. Michael Chertoff held a conference call with Gov. Schwarzenegger, Sen. Feinstein, a staffer for Sen. Boxer, Interior Sec. Kempthorne and Agriculture Sec. Schafer to discuss California’s needs, said DHS spokeswoman. [She did not specify whether the conference was held in French or in English!]

• It has been decided that to create more CO2, which might help put out the fires, firefighters from Australia, Greece and New Zealand should come to the U.S. </dark humor>

• State officials are trying to get all the fires declared as major disasters, to enable increased access to federal funds, said California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi.

• Forest fires have broken out in nine states, including two in Washington yesterday, which destroyed [thirteen] homes [some were multimillion-dollar homes] in the Spokane Valley [Friday], said Don Smurthwaite, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

Numerous major wildfires continued burning Friday in Eastern Washington, prompting Gov. Chris Gregoire to declare a state of emergency for the entire state. That freed equipment, firefighters and funding for efforts to quench the flames.

Fire crews from across Washington were battling blazes in Chelan, Douglas, Stevens, Adams, Ferry, and Spokane counties. With hot and dry conditions statewide, Gregoire said the proclamation ensured any affected area would have sufficient firefighting resources. (Source)

• “It would do us no good to send everything to California and then see fires ignite in three or four other states,” Smurthwaite said.

• So far, about 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares), [an area roughly the size of Connecticut,] have burned in the U.S. this year, exceeding the 10-year average of 2.5 million [by 20 percent,] Smurthwaite said.

• “Hand crews and bulldozers were (in Concow) all night, posted at individual homes” trying to retard the flames, said Joshpae White, an engineer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

• High temperatures and low humidity have hampered efforts by crews trying to contain another fire advance near Carmel Valley, north of Big Sur. said Susan Zornek, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman on loan from Missouri.

• Because this fire season started so early, the firefighting conditions have been among the worst in memory, even among longtime crews, said Terence McHale, policy director for CDF Firefighters of Cal Fire, the union representing the firefighters.

• “We have firefighters who’ve been working nonstop since mid-May, who haven’t seen their families or homes, who are working 24-hour shifts, 21 days on, sometimes putting in 36 hours in the initial attack of a fire,” said McHale said. “It’s an incredible challenge.”

• “You almost feel like somebody is out to get you,” said Nancy Henphill, 61, a Concow resident.

California Must Decide: Life or “Lifestyle?”

Related News Links:

• Calif. National Guard Joins Firefighting Effort
• California Wildfires Force 10,000 to Evacuate Homes
• Calif. Wildfire Forces More Evacuations

Related Links:

• UPDATE #1: California Fires
• Early Halloween

• Images of the Day: California Fires
• Lightning Safety Awareness Week: June 22-28

• A Few Extreme Events Away

• 2008: Year of the Fire
• Raging Wildfires: Mother Nature ensuring the cycle of life?

• Our Forecast for 2009 California Fires [Aug 14, 2008]

EPA Plays Piggy In the Middle

Submitted by a Member

EPA Joins the Supreme Court and Congress to Play Piggy In the Middle

Note: Piggy in the Middle, also called Monkey in the Middle, Pickle in a Dish, Pickle in the Middle, or Keep Away is a children’s game played primarily in North American politics. Three or more players pass the responsibility for keeping the air clean and saving lives to one another, while the player in the middle (called it, the monkey, the piggy , the pickle, or simply we the people,) attempts to pinpoint the accountability.

Piggies on the run. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (UNITED STATES). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice

US Supreme Court: Carbon dioxide is an air pollutant, and the existing Clean Air Act gives EPA the authority to regulate it.

EPA Administrator Stephen [disgrace] Johnson: “If the nation is serious about regulating greenhouse gases the Clean Air Act is the wrong tool for the job and it’s really at the feet of Congress to come up with good legislation that cuts through what will likely be decades of regulation and litigation.”

The US Congress: Didn’t the Supreme Court clarify the position on this in 2007 in MASSACHUSETTS ET AL. v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ET AL.? [Argued November 29, 2006—Decided April 2, 2007]

They said: “Based on respected scientific opinion that a well-documented rise in global temperatures and attendant climatological and environmental changes have resulted from a significant increase in the atmospheric concentration of “greenhouse gases,” a group of private organizations petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin regulating the emissions of four such gases, including carbon dioxide, under §202(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act, which requires that the EPA“shall by regulation prescribe . . . standards applicable to the emission of any air pollutant from any class . . . of new motor vehicles . . . which in [the EPA Administrator’s] judgment cause[s], or contribute[s] to, air pollution . . . reasonably . . . anticipated to endanger public health or welfare,” 42 U. S. C. §7521(a)(1). The Act defines “air pollutant” to include “any air pollution agent . . . , including any physical, chemical . . . substance . . . emitted into . . . the ambient air.” §7602(g). EPA ultimately denied the petition, reasoning that (1) the Act does not authorize it to issue mandatory regulations to address global climate change, and (2) even if it had the authority to set greenhouse gas emission standards, it would have been unwise to do so at that time because a causal link between greenhouse gases and the increase in global surface air temperatures was not unequivocally established. The agency further characterized any EPA regulation of motor-vehicle emissions as a piecemeal approach to climate change that would conflict with the President’s comprehensive approach involving additional support for technological innovation,the creation of non regulatory programs to encourage voluntary private-sector reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and further re-search on climate change, and might hamper the President’s ability to persuade key developing nations to reduce emissions. Petitioners, now joined by intervenor Massachusetts and other state and local governments, sought review in the D. C. Circuit. Al-though each of the three judges on the panel wrote separately, two of them agreed that the EPA Administrator properly exercised his discretion in denying the rule making petition. One judge concluded that the Administrator’s exercise of “judgment” as to whether a pollutant could “reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare,” §7521(a)(1), could be based on scientific uncertainty as well as other factors, including the concern that unilateral U. S. regulation of motor-vehicle emissions could weaken efforts to reduce other countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The second judge opined that petitioners had failed to demonstrate the particularized injury to them that is necessary to establish standing under Article III, but accepted the contrary view as the law of the case and joined the judgment on the merits as the closest to that which he preferred. The court there-fore denied review. …”

Related Links:

• The White House of Horror!!
• Disgrace, Disgrace, You’re Such an Ugly Disgrace …
• EPA official resigns citing Dow Chemical

• 60 Percent of EPA Staff Have ‘Personally Experienced’ ‘Political Interference
  
• Washington waste site: Recent reports confirm that the EPA needs a major cleanup

The White House of Horror!!

Horrors of Dracula and the White House Vampires

Origin of the name “Dracula”

King Sigismund of Hungary, who became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1410, founded a secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Iraqis …

Vlad II Dracul, father of Vlad III, was admitted to the order around 1431 because of his bravery in fighting the Iraqis and was dubbed Dracul (dragon) thus his son became Dracula (son of the dragon). From 1431 onward …

The Nation, Blood and CO2

Here’s the story in a nutshell about the WH, EPA,  Sen Barbara Boxer, Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of CDC, Jason Burnett [EPA’s former associate deputy administrator who resigned because, he says, White House wanted him to retract a statement about the dangers of CO2] and tons of CO2 as well as spinning yarn of politics:

Press Conference on White House Interference in Addressing the Dangers of Global Warming

Statement of Senator Barbara Boxer (Remarks as prepared for delivery)

You have heard me say many times that this Administration has downplayed the dangers posed by global warming. They have used every excuse to avoid taking action, even hiding behind China and India.

Now, thanks to a very brave former EPA official, Jason Burnett, who has responded to an inquiry from this committee, who is here today, we know that the Administration’s efforts have been about covering up the real dangers of global warming and hiding the facts from the public.

This cover-up is being directed from the White House and the Office of the Vice President. (Continued…)

WHITE HOUSE DELETION OF LARGE SECTIONS OF TESTIMONY ON PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)

On Tuesday October 23, 2007 Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works regarding the public health implications of global warming. Dr. Gerberding’s written testimony was heavily edited during the review process coordinated by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, to remove most of the specific information about the health impacts of global warming.

At a White House press briefing the following day, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino asserted that the reason for the edits was that the CDC testimony was inconsistent with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the same topic. According to the White House briefing transcript, Ms. Perino answered a question on this issue as follows: (Continued…)

What Does All This Mean?

EPA: “greenhouse gases may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public welfare” [December 2007]

Supreme Court: Clean Air Act expressly authorizes the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. [April 2007]

White House spokesman Tony Fratto: “Jason Burnett is not the EPA administrator,” EPA chief Stephen Johnson should oversee environmental policy.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of CDC: “Climate Change is a Public Health Concern. In the United States, climate change is likely to have a significant impact on health, through links with the following outcomes:

• Direct effects of heat,
• Health effects related to extreme weather events,
• Air pollution-related health effects,
• Allergic diseases,
• Water- and food-borne infectious diseases,
• Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases,
• Food and water scarcity, at least for some populations,
• Mental health problems, and
• Long-term impacts of chronic diseases and other health effects”

Sen. Barbara Boxer: There is a “cover-up” aimed at stopping EPA from tackling greenhouse emissions. “This cover-up is being directed from the White House and the office of the vice president”.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, on the administration’s actions: “I don’t know if that is criminal. I doubt it. OK. But I know it is immoral.”

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino: Gerberding’s draft testimony to Congress “did not comport” with science contained in the IPCC report on Climate Change, and “a number of agencies had some concerns with the draft.”

Sen. Boxer: Gerberding’s planned testimony and the IPCC report “matched identically.”

What’s a Hydrokong?

A Shrinking World Series

Is it a mega-tropical storm system, or an extra-tropical cyclone (ETC), i.e., a non-tropical, large-scale low pressure storm system like a Nor’easter?

“Hydrokong” is a colossal atmospheric phenomenon. It’s an extreme precipitation event which is enhanced by circulation changes that increase and concentrate the distribution of water vapor.

Hydrokong! The Storm System as it appeared over the central United States June 12, 2008 04:15 UTC. The still image is an aviation color enhancement of a satellite image.

Globally, as total precipitation increases, the duration or frequency of precipitation events decreases. However, warmer temperatures and regional variation can significantly affect those offsetting behaviors. For example, reduced total precipitation in one region, the Western United States, can significantly increase the intensity of precipitation in another region, the Midwest. Hydrokongs essentially create two extreme events, droughts in one region and flooding caused by mega-intense precipitation in another. As the global temperatures rise, more hydrokongs should be expected.

Another Hydrokong in the making? A new System as it appeared over the central United States June 27, 2008 04:15 UTC. The still image is an aviation color enhancement of a satellite image.

An aviation color enhancement of a floater [updated periodically] satellite image GEOS Eastern U.S. Imagery, NOAA SSD. For full size image right-click on the image and select “View Image.”

In the words of Brian Pierce, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, describing the aftermath of flooding last week: “We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring.”

Are Extreme Precipitation Events Earth’s Natural Defense Mechanisms?

Related Links:

• Nature’s Defense Mechanisms
• www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/index.php [Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service!]
  

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