Storm Season Causing Hunger in Haiti

Port au-Prince Haiti
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/07/study-underscores-hunger-problems-facing-storm-torn-haiti/

Haiti has had a very active storm season this year which has caused widespread food shortages. Hurricane Sandy and other storms that have come through Haiti have destroyed up to 90% of Haiti's harvest. 70% of households say that they are experiencing moderate to severe hunger.  
The food shortages in Haiti are a indirect result of the storms that went through the country. The food shortages that will affect the country will probably have more of an impact on them than the initial damage of the storm. 
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/07/study-underscores-hunger-problems-facing-storm-torn-haiti/

Tornado In New Zealand 

Photo of damage in New Zealand.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/05/15708742-tornado-kills-3-in-new-zealand-tears-through-150-homes?lite

A tornado went through New Zealand on Thursday killing 3 people and destroying 150 homes. Two of the people died when a concrete slab from a house fell on the truck they were in. The other person died by having a tree fall on them.

There really isn't much to this post but I thought it was fitting since we just talked about tornadoes in class.

  http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/05/15708742-tornado-kills-3-in-new-zealand-tears-through-150-homes?lite

Philippines Typhoon 

Tagum City in the Southern Philippines
http://www.cafod.org.uk/News/Emergencies-news/Typhoon-Bopha-Philippines

Typhoon Bopha killed 484 people on Tuesday and 383 people are still missing. 306,000 people are now homeless and thousands of people are living together in public buildings. The government says it might take months before they will be able to find new homes. The area that was the most affected is prone to landslides and had been declared unsafe to build on. 

This natural hazard became a disaster pretty quickly because of people building in an unsafe area.The people living in these unsafe areas were all poor which shows the difference in how people with different economic statuses are affected by natural hazards. The lack of aid for the people who lost there homes is making a bad situation worse. Typhoon Bopha is a good example of the difference in MDC's and LDC'S. If this was an MDC the death toll would probably be much lower and it would have a more monetary affect on the country. A MDC would also be able to provide more government aid and the results would be less severe.  

http://www.weather.com/news/typhoon-bopha-20121203

Polar Ice Melting 

Ice burg in Greenland
 http://www.weather.com/news/ice-melting-rapidly-20121130

Scientist have found that the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica have been melting 3 times as fast as they were in 1990. They believe that this increase is caused by the additional carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The sea levels have increased slightly from the ice melting and may have contributed to super storm Sandy and may cause more extreme weather. Greenland is the biggest concern and is melting at a very fast rate. 

This is another article about global warming and is another example of why the Climate Talks are important. Hopefully they will be able to make a plan for dealing with these issues and preparing for the changes that will come from them. 

http://www.weather.com/news/ice-melting-rapidly-20121130

Storms Hitting the West Coast

Another storm is going to hit the west coast this weekend. The last series of storms that went though this week caused thousands of people to go without power and caused delays in transportation. The storms have  caused flash flooding and mudslides and they are afraid this next storm will make things worse. Mudslides are a major concern in areas that were affected by wildfires this summer. 

I thought this would be a good article to post because they talk a little bit about mudslides. The areas that were affected by fires this summer would be at a bigger risk for mudslides because they lost a large amount of vegetation causing the hills to lose some of there strength from the roots and the rain to hit the soil at a faster velocity. 

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/01/15597789-san-francisco-area-gets-set-for-third-storm-system-and-flight-delays-traffic-mess?lite

 

Permafrost and Climate Talks

Permafrost diagram
http://www.wunderground.com/climate/permafrost.asp

Scientists want countries to consider the impact that permafrost will have on our atmosphere at the climate talks. As the temperature of the globe increases, the permafrost has begun to melt. The permafrost contains lots of decaying organic matter and as the permafrost melts this matter is released in the form of carbon dioxide or methane. The earths permafrost contains twice as much carbon dioxide than the earths atmosphere. The permafrost melting is also an issue because it will make the ground in these areas unstable and cities built in these areas may have issues with buildings and other structures collapsing. 

Looking at the effects that permafrost melting will have on the planet and preparing for the hazard is a good mitigation tactic and should be considered when looking at global warming. 

http://www.weather.com/news/climate-change-melting-permafrost-20121128

Climate Talks

The UN has formed a meeting to discuss the climate and global warming. The main goals of these talks is to find ways to reduce greenhouse gases and finding ways for developing countries to adjust to it. The climate talks in the past have not resolved the issues that are occuring and the temperature of the globe is still increasing at a higher than normal rate. The climate change is believed to increase flooding in coastal areas and cause problems with agriculture. The Kyoto Protocol which was a major climate agreement that was signed in 1997 expires this year and very few countries are willing to sign it again. The US does not agree with it because it does not give any restrictions to developing countries like China which is the largest carbon emitting country. China argues that they should not have any restrictions on carbon emissions because it would cause major problems with there economy and countries growth. 

I think global warming is a serious issue and I hope that these talks will help them reach some sort of agreement. I think developing countries need to take some responsibility for there carbon emissions and make an effort to reduce them.

 

http://www.weather.com/news/climate/climate-talks-open-20121126