Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

23 Jun 2011 18:47

tags

U.S.: Rising flood waters force evacuations from Minot, ND

  • The waters are rising: The scene in Minot is looking pretty bad at this stage, and the forecast is not heartening — flooding unprecedented for the region is prompting the government to issue evacuation notices, as officials will deliberately release more waters from the Lake Darling Dam to mitigate the crisis (the dam is near Minot as well as other towns). The expected drainage will be three times what Minot could handle, all but assuring the damage and destruction of countless homes. Our thoughts are with these victims, and we hope people will prioritize their own safety. source

24 May 2011 14:54

tags

U.S.: More storms expected in devastated Joplin, Missouri

  • Scenes from Joplin, and fears of further storms: The death toll in Joplin continued to grimly creep upwards today, with 117 now confirmed dead, and relief and rescue services still faced with such a job that you should probably brace for that number to change again. To make matters worse, the NOAA has issued warnings of severe storms the next few days across a broad swath of the American heartland, with Joplin lying in the highest risk zone. Please do everything possible to stay safe, everybody. source

28 Apr 2011 14:42

tags

U.S.: Catastrophic storms, tornados wreak a historic toll

  • The carnage in context: Obviously, it’s tough to quantify the costs in property damage, land damage, and the hideous trauma that has been thrust upon so many, and in the case of the trauma it’ll probably never be. That said, in terms of the most irreversible damage done, lives lost, we at least know this much — this was a big one by America’s standards. With the death-toll grimly ticking upwards as hours roll by, this will be at least the 7th largest loss of life by storm in American history, and that could easily change in the following days. Our thoughts are with them. (photo by Dusty Compton, from the Tuscaloosa News’ photo gallery) source

14 Mar 2011 14:04

tags

World: Full extent of Japan’s humanitarian crisis yet too early to predict

  • Not much to add: The pervasive, terrible damage done to the Japanese port town of Rikuzentakata, In Iwate Prefecture. source

01 Sep 2010 20:44

tags

U.S.: A numerical breakdown of James J. Lee’s many demands

  • 15 uses of the word “must” in Lee’s epic eco-manifesto
  • 32uses of the word “human,” the target of his ire
  • 14uses of the word “stop”; he’s very demanding in this thing
  • two uses of the word “need”; they come at the end of the manifesto source
  • » The brunt of his argument: Lee, who admits to being inspired by Daniel Quinn (whose bestseller “Ishmael” currently ranks number 317 on Amazon’s book listings) thinks that humans are causing many bad things in the world, and he wants them to stop their damage and destruction. So, he’s suggesting the network create a new game show that will encourage humans not to procreate. In general, he thinks that the world needs fewer humans, because they cause great damage to the planet. He’s a rare breed – he’s not pro-life or pro-choice. He’s anti-life. That’s rare.

06 Aug 2010 11:41

tags

World: In case the last number wasn’t depressing, this should top it

  • 12 million the number of people reportedly affected by the huge monsoon-bred storms in Pakistan
  • 650,000 the number of homes destroyed in what may be the biggest disaster in Pakistan’s history source

15 Jun 2010 10:30

tags

World: With rioting decreasing, Kyrgyzstan’s people assess the damage

This guy right here is in disbelief about the destruction caused to his home. On the plus side, aid is starting to come into the country. source
 

31 May 2010 11:40

tags

U.S.: Ever see a nuclear cooling tower destroyed? Well, you’re about to

  • This is freaking awesome. As part of the stimulus plan, the Savannah River Sites decided to knock off one of their massive cooling towers which was no longer in use and would cost money to secure every year otherwise. It’s pretty awesome to watch really freaking thick concrete fall to the ground like this, in a Roland Emmerich/Michael Bay way.

20 Jan 2010 10:50

tags

World: Google Maps now provide an accurate view of Haiti’s devastation

  • Google’s updated their satellite images for Port-au-Prince, Haiti, post-earthquake, and some of the new views are devastating and terrible. The images are also being given to relief organizations, who may be able to use it to assist others. source

10 Jan 2010 09:33

tags

U.S.: Eureka wishes an earthquake didn’t find it, glad it wasn’t worse

More destructive than deadly, the 6.5 Eureka, Calif. earthquake knocked out power for 25,000 people and caused lots of damage like this. source