Air Pollution and Autism

Photo Credit: Rachael Rettner/Fox News

 

 

A recent study released shows that children who are exposed to higher levels of air pollution early in life may have a higher risk of autism. The research found in this study shows that children who live in areas with high levels of traffic generated air pollution in their first year of life are three times more likely to have autism- as opposed to children living in areas with low levels of traffic generated air pollution. This study also found that there was a link between air pollution exposure while in the womb and autism-particularly during late pregnancy. There are many factors that are possibly related to autism such as age of mother and father, ethnicity, and gender- and these factors were taken into consideration during this study. Even after taking other factors into consideration however, researchers still found trends linking the high levels of air pollution to autism.

While this study shows interesting information, it does only show an association linking air pollution and autism, not a cause and effect relationship however. Rachael Rettner of Fox 6 News also reported that, “researchers did not gather information on the children's nutrition or their exposure to indoor pollutants and secondhand smoke, which could affect the results.” Although nutrition and indoor pollutants were not taken into consideration, this information is still important to note, and more research should be done to gather additional data. Traffic generated air pollution is common and is continually increasing which is why it is important we continue to research this relationship between air pollution and autism.

For more information on this study, visit:

 

Car Pollution Linked To Autism

There's No Place Like Home

Photo credit: Michael Raphael/FEMA

Although there were more twisters seen by mid-April of this year than ever before, after May of 2012, these numbers dropped to a historic low. According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, so far this year the United States has had only 88 tornadoes, as compared to the 1,691 seen last year. Greg Carbin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center stated that, “We are approaching a theoretical minimum in the annual tornado count for the modern era.” According to USA today, the current year with the fewest tornadoes recorded was in 1987 when the U.S had 1,013 tornadoes; but it looks like that is about to change.
 

With only a handful of weeks left in 2012, it is highly unlikely that an event would occur to increase the amount of tornadoes in the U.S. seen this year. So why have we not seen many tornadoes this year? Bob Henson, a meteorologist for the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research stated that the reason for this decrease in tornadoes is due to the drought that rapt much of the United States. Henson also noted that, “Part of the reason for the drought — and hence the lack of tornado-producing storms — was the presence of a high-pressure "heat dome over much of the country." It will be interesting to see how the drought affects next year’s presence of tornadoes in the United States as well.

For more information on this story, visit:

 

2012 Could Break Record For Fewest Tornadoes

 

Top 5 Deadliest Tornado Years in U.S. History

Solar Storm

Early Friday morning between the times of 1:00am-5:00am a solar storm was captured and recorded at NASA’s space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory. This virtual tsunami was so big that NASA’s cameras could not capture the entire explosion. According to Kate Andries of National Geographic News,  “hot waves of charged gas—released when tangled solar magnetic fields destabilized and exploded before reconnecting again—arc away from the sun in vast red loops.” The solar arcs that were captured are the latest seen; and these explosions have been increasing in frequency. According to NASA, this is, “a time of periodic change in the sun's activity and appearance—nears its peak.”

Just four days prior to this event (Monday, November 12^th, 2012) a moderate flare was seen. This flare later caused a geomagnetic storm above earth, which in turn resulted in a great northern lights display because it supercharged the earth’s auroras.

Leon Golub, senior astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics stated that, “We are in the peak of the cycle (solar flare) right now. The sun is in its most active state." Although this solar tsunami will likely have little effect on the earth because neither one was pointed towards it, this does not mean that will always be the case.

This peak in the sun’s active state could have serious effects on the electrical grid surrounding the earth. When these types of solar flares are aimed at the planet, they carry the risk of disrupting electrical systems and satellites. These flares can also introduce the presence of radiation to astronauts. Thankfully enough, Tom Bogdan, director of the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center stated that these emissions travel slowly enough that satellites can detect them well before their particles reach earth.

For more on this story, visit:

Solar Tsunami

Solar Storm Photos

Solar Flare Sparks Biggest Eruption Ever Seen On Sun

BP Pays The Price

Sea turtle experts use soft cotton swabs to wipe oil from the head and eyes of sea turtles.

Photo credit: UC Davis

 

After many court cases and hearings, a verdict has been reached in regards to the BP oil spill. Back in April of 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon well burst, sending oiling pouring into the Gulf of Mexico for three months. Along with 11 workers that were killed from this incident, a large amount of wildlife including fish, birds, and endangered species such as sea turtles and sperm whales was also killed. Of the charges BP faced, each loss of human life resulted in one felony. The company will also plead guilty to one count of obstruction of congress, and one misdemeanor count under the Clean Water Act and one misdemeanor count under the Migratory Bird Treaty.

An article released today from CNN Money stated that BP plead guilty to a dozen felony charges stemming from the oil spill. BP also agreed to pay $4.5 billion in government charges. Along with this, BP’s criminal fine was totaled out at $1.256 billion in the case, which is the largest in U.S. history. The $4.5 billion agreement that BP has made also comes on top of the already $20 billion that the company has agreed to pay into a trust fund to meet damage claims from the spill.

So where will all of this money go? A large portion of the money will resolve criminal charges and an additional $525 million will be paid to resolve claims brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Along with this, $350 million will go to the National Academy of Science.

Even with all of the billions of dollars in fines that BP will pay, you cannot put a price tag on the lives, and the environmental impacts of such a large oil spill. Effects are still being seen on the Gulf, and will continue for quite some time. And the emotional effects will still be there forever, as mother Arlene Weise stated, “It [the money] doesn’t bring my boy back.” Arlene lost her 24 year old son on the rig the day of the explosion.

 

For more information on this story, visit:

BP To Pay Record Penalty For Gulf Oil Spill

 

 

Was Toba So Bad After All?

Walls of the long-since-collapsed Toba volcano on Sumatra island rise behind rice fields.
Photograph by Paul Kennedy, Lonely Planet/Getty Images

Supervolcano Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia is one of Earth’s largest volcanic events seen in the last 2 million years. As I learned in class the past few weeks, Toba’s explosion was about 5,000 times greater than that of Mount St. Helen’s and is also the equivalent to 560 Mount Pinatubo eruptions. Along with this, it has been said that Toba may have nearly driven the human race to extinction due to climate change. However, a recent study released by scientists suggests that Toba’s fallout may have not been quite as catastrophic as recently believed.

This study was based off of research done on acid rain-tainted ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland. In this study, scientists found that in respect to climate change, the Antarctic ice core shows signs of a warming event just following the Toba eruption. According to Andres Svensson, co-author of this study, “That means there's no long-term global cooling caused by the eruption, if there had been, you'd expect to see evidence of a chill at both Poles.” Svensson also stated that there may have been a shorter cooling period (10-20 years) like the ones we see from less powerful volcanoes, but other than that life seemed to move on after the eruption of Toba. Though this may be true in some aspects, researchers still say this obviously depended on where humans were located in regards to Toba. With the results of the new ice core data, researchers will have a better chance at ancient toll of this eruption, to determine whether artifacts date from pre- or post-Toba times.

 

Svensson ended this interview by stating, “It’s unlikely we'll see such a mega-eruption any time soon. It's a very low risk," thank goodness for that. 

For more information on this study and related stories, visit the following links:

 

Supervolcano Rained Acid On Both Poles- But Wasn't So Bad After All?

 

Direct linking of Greenland and Antarctic ice cores at the Toba eruption

 

Yellowstone Supervolcano Discovery—Where Will It Erupt?

 

Rain, Rain Go Away

Photo Credit: Arizona Daily Star

As promised, the east coast was hit with some unpleasant weather yesterday which brought high winds, rain and snow. The unwelcomed storm brought winds up to 60mph and once again, knocked out power for people; many of whom just got theirs back on. Residents in Connecticut and Rhode Island reported 3-6 inches of snow on Wednesday, while Worcester, Massachusetts reported 8 inches of snow.

With such heavy winds and steady precipitation, many residents were/are at risk for flooded homes. Being that meteorologists were well aware of this storm and got information out to the community quickly, public workers were able to stay ahead of the storm. Workers built up sand dunes to protect the already damaged coast, and new evacuations were put into place for some communities which were also evacuated from Sandy. Along with this, new shelters were open for those who chose to evacuate, and police went to low-lying neighborhoods urging people to leave. Construction was also paused- which is no surprise since the crane incident during Sandy. In all, these communities were well prepared for what was about to come their way…again.

Although the east coast has been slammed with some ugly weather lately, many residents are in high spirits. One resident stated, “It isn’t scary at all, this is nothing.” Under normal conditions, a storm of this type would be big news for the east coast. However, being that there are still many damages that need repair from Sandy, this storm seemed like just a minor bump in the road for many residents.

Thankfully, the weather is looking up this weekend, with temperatures estimated to be in the 50-60’s. Hopefully this gives the east coast some time to warm up and clean up.

Click the link below for this full story:

Nor'easter Brings More Wind, Water To Storm Battered East Coast

East Coast Can’t Catch a Break

As the east coast continues to pick up the mess left behind from Super-storm Sandy, New Jersey got a small, but interesting wakeup call on Monday morning. At 1:19am a 2.0 magnitude earthquake centered in Ringwood, NJ woke residents with a loud boom. This area still has damages and power outages from Sandy, so thankfully no damages from the earthquake have been reported. Being that this event occurred only a week after Sandy came through and devastated the east coast, many people wondered if this earthquake was caused by last week’s events.

According to Becky Oskin of Discovery News, “Even the second-most powerful hurricane on record can't cause an earthquake.” Geophysicist John Ebel also added, “It's very possible that the earthquake this morning would have occurred anyway even if we hadn't had Sandy come through.” Though researchers have documented cases where flooding caused an earthquake, these instances occurred when filling of large reservoirs behind dams (at least 100ft of water) were seen. Being that the storm surge of Sandy was about 10ft, the conditions do not look favorable to blame Sandy for the small quake.  

As if Hurricane Sandy and this minor earthquake didn’t cause enough chaos, the east coast is now preparing for a strong nor’easter heading their way. This weather is expected to hit the east coast tomorrow and Thursday; stay tuned to my blog posts to see what happens.

For more information, visit:

Minor Earthquake Shakes New Jersey

Did Sandy Cause New Jersey Earthquake?

New Jersey Geological and Water Survey

Sandy Gets Pricy

Now that Sandy has left its mark, estimates on the cost of damages are starting to pour in. Currently, estimates of economic damages from Sandy are between $30-50 billion. According to the L.A. Times, estimates of the economic losses from the storm reached $50 billion. These numbers come from severe property damage, subway shut-downs, and power outages. This past Thursday, Eqecat Incorporation estimated storm damages between $30-50 billion. Of that estimate, $10-20 billion will be insured. As devastating as these numbers are, according to Business Insider, these numbers are considerably low to that of Hurricane Katrina; which damages came in at $145 billion. So an answer to the pressing question still remains: How is Hurricane Sandy going to impact the already damaged U.S economy?

According to a recent report released by JPMorgan, “Hurricane Sandy may initially depress economic activity, then support it over time as rebuilding commences.” The report also stated that short term impacts are going to be high, but in the long run the impacts will be minimal.

The following chart shows monthly GDP after three major hurricane events:

In general, the affects of the hurricanes were very noticeable within the first couple months of the storm, which is followed by a more stable economy about 6 months out. According to Business Insider, the biggest impacts will be on housing, construction, and retail sales. Although there will be an initial decline in these areas, it will be followed by a boost in the purchasing of building materials, construction, some home sales, etc. This is something that was discussed when talking about direct and indirect gains/losses of disaster during lecture, so it will be interesting to see what the short term and long term effects of Hurricane Sandy are as more information becomes available. Also during lecture, we discussed why the government and insurance companies pay such close attention to storms, and stories like this are proof on why that is so important. 

For more information, visit:

What Hurricane Sandy Means For The U.S. Economy

EQECAT

Who Gets Sandy's Vote?

Not only did Hurricane Sandy tear up the east coast, she also stirred things up in the world of politics. During such a critical time in the election season, neither Obama nor Romney can afford any negativity attached to them. With a massive natural disaster such as Sandy, these candidates are walking on a slippery slope which could make for a quick defeat; as former President George W. Bush learned all too well as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

So which candidate has more of a spotlight on him as a result of Sandy? After reading several articles on this topic, it seems to me that President Obama has been getting a lot of praise, even from republicans such as Governors Chris Christie (NY) and Bob McDonnell (VA). On the other hand, Governor Romney is getting some criticism for his storm relief rallies which have been said to seem more like political rallies. During a time like this, President Obama had an automatic upper-hand being that he is the Commander-in-Chief and gets to show his strengths as a leader.

Another aspect of this event that is helping President Obama is FEMA’s admirable response to Hurricane Sandy. FEMA had a lot on the line with this election, as Governor Romney has made it clear he wants to shut down FEMA. Though there is a lot of praise being thrown in President Obama’s direction, the voter turnout due to this super storm could pose a problem for him.
From the articles I read, it seems very unlikely that Election Day will be postponed for the areas affected by Sandy. With that being said, it is highly unlikely that the cleanup process will be complete in order to make transportation to voting polls easy. Millions of people rely on public transportation, which could play a big role as to how many middle and lower class citizens will have access to voting, as compared to upper class citizens, and people who have their own means of transportation.

In all, there are many factors that could swing this election. With many areas faced with severe damages, and storms that are still to come in swing states such as Ohio, it will be interesting to see what the outcome of this election looks like.  

For more information on this topic, visit the following links:

A Tale of Two Storms

Will Sandy Help Obama?