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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: A Green News Special Report: Devastation as another record tornado hits Moore, OK - The city wakes up to the day after, questions about resilience and the influence of climate change ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Midwest drought: Wells dry, fertile plains turn to dust; Utilities vs. rooftop solar: What the fight is about; Native chiefs walk out of Keystone XL negotiations; US hits 100k plug-in vehicles; Feds again delay restarting San Onofre nuke plant; Remember when IRS targeted environmental groups?; US approves natural gas export terminal; After 30 years, Camp Lejeune coming clean on toxic water ... PLUS: We Have Met the Unknown Unknowns --- and They are Us ... and much, MUCH more! ...

STORIES DISCUSSED IN TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...

• How to help Oklahoma tornado victims (NBC News):
  
  If you want to send a $10 donation to the Disaster Relief fund via text message, you can do so by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999.
• The Day After: Moore, Oklahoma Devastated by F5 Tornado:
• Violent EF-5 Tornado Causes Catastrophic Damage in Moore, Oklahoma (Dr. Jeff Masters, Weather Underground)
• Moore, OK Tornado was an F5 (National Weather Service, Norman, OK)
• VIDEO: Time Lapse of Moore, Oklahoma Tornado - 5/20/3013 (Youtube):



• Terrified children, teachers' heroics, no shelter: Inside a tornado-ravaged school (CNN) [emphasis added]:
  
  While Plaza Towers Elementary apparently did have a basement, it did not have a storm shelter. "Most of the schools in Oklahoma don't have one" because of the cost, Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis told CNN. But he said he's sure that will change now.
• The day after, tornado survivors tell harrowing stories (CNN)
• Will Republicans Hold Up Disaster Relief Again?
• VIDEO: Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims (AP)
• Before Deadly Tornado Hit, Oklahoma Senators Worked To Undermine Disaster Relief (Think Progress)
• VIDEO: Inhofe: Aid for Oklahoma tornado, Hurricane Sandy 'totally different' (The Hill):
  
  Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) argued Tuesday there's no similarity between federal relief aid to help Oklahoma recover from a massive tornado and federal aid to help states ravaged by Hurricane Sandy. "Well, let's look at that. That was totally different," Inhofe said Tuesday on MSNBC.
• Tom Coburn: Tornado aid must be offset (Washington Post)
• Who Pays for Climate Change? U.S. Taxpayers Outspend Private Insurers Three-to-One to Cover Climate Disruption Costs (NRDC)
• 3rd Disaster for Moore since 1999: Will They Rebuild Smarter?
• Terrified children, teachers' heroics, no shelter: Inside a tornado-ravaged school (CNN) [emphasis added]:
  
  Plaza Towers Elementary...did not have a storm shelter. "Most of the schools in Oklahoma don't have one" because of the cost, Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis told CNN.
• A Survival Plan for America’s Tornado Danger Zone (NYT Dot Earth):
  
  [I]t’s important to understand the demographic shifts and regulatory gaps that have put so many people in harm’s way....
• In Tornado Zones, Seeking Shelter From the Storm (NYT Dot Earth, May 11, 2011)
• Tornadoes, Extreme Weather, And Climate Change:
• Climate Scientist Trenberth Explains Climate Change Effect on Tornadoes Like Moore (The BRAD BLOG): PLUS: OK Senators favor federal disaster relief aid for constituents, even after voting against it following Superstorm Sandy...
• What Role Does Climate Change Play in Tornadoes? (Scientific American): A climate scientist reflects on what global warming means for extreme weather
• Tornado drought: only 3 U.S. tornadoes during May's first week (Dr. Jeff Masters, Weather Underground)
• May 3, 1999 Oklahoma/Kansas Tornado Outbreak (National Weather Service): A total of 74 tornadoes touched down across the two states in less than 21 hours. At one point, there were as many as four tornadoes reported on the ground at the same time.
• VIDEO: Tornado Drought Officially Over (Climate Crocks)
• VIDEO: Jeff Masters on May’s Tornado Drought: More Evidence of Extremes (Climate Crocks):
  
  Despite last week’s lethal tornado in Texas, and the continued rash of storms today – the first part of May saw an unusually low number of tornadoes, – striking in contrast to 2 years ago, when in 2011 we saw an awesome eruption of tornado fury across the US.



• Oklahoma Tornado's Climate Change Connection Is 'A Damn Difficult Thing To Predict' (Huffington Post Green):
  
  "We've set records for the most and for the fewest tornadoes in a 12-month period over the last three years," said [NOAA scientist Harold] Brooks.
• Can Tornado Prediction Be Improved?: Advances in computer modeling and other technologies still cannot overcome the fundamental complexity of thunderstorm and subsequent tornado formation (Scientific American, April 13, 2011)

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (Stuff we didn't have time for in today's audio report)...

• We Have Met the Unknown Unknowns and They are Us (Legal Planet):
  
  There are uncertainties about climate science such as tipping points and feedback effects. But these pale in comparison to the biggest source of uncertainties: people. Here are some of the major things we don’t know and really can’t know about future society.
• Utilities vs. rooftop solar: What the fight is about (Grist)
• Midwest Drought: Wells Dry, Fertile Plains Turn to Dust (NY Times) [emphasis added]:
  
  Vast stretches of Texas farmland lying over the aquifer no longer support irrigation. In west-central Kansas, up to a fifth of the irrigated farmland along a 100-mile swath of the aquifer has already gone dry. In many other places, there no longer is enough water to supply farmers’ peak needs during Kansas’ scorching summers. And when the groundwater runs out, it is gone for good. Refilling the aquifer would require hundreds, if not thousands, of years of rains.
• Chiefs Declare Keystone XL Consultation Meeting Invalid, Walk Out on State Department Officials (Indian Country Media Network):
  
  Deeming the meeting “invalid,” leaders of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Association...said they would meet only with President Barack Obama to discuss the pipeline.
• Milestone: U.S reaches 100,000 plug-in vehicles sold (Treehugger)
• Feds Again Delay San Onofre Nuke Restart Decision (AP):
  
  Federal regulators have indefinitely delayed a decision on the proposed restart of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant in California, raising new questions Monday about whether the twin reactors will produce electricity again.
• The Fight for North Dakota's Fracking-Water Market: (Reuters): In towns across North Dakota, the wellhead of the North American energy boom, the locals have taken to quoting the adage: 'Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting.'
• Remember When the IRS Targeted Environmental Organizations? (Earth Island Journal):
  
  This isn't the first time the agency has investigated political groups - just the first time it's become a full-blown controversy. ... Not too long ago, it was environmental organizations and other progressive groups that were being targeted by the Internal Revenue Service.
• US Eases Natural Gas Glut With Second Export Terminal (CS Monitor)
• After Nearly 30 Years, Camp Lejeune Coming Clean (AP)
• Widespread Greenland Melting A Sign of Things to Come (Climate Central):
  
  When 97 percent of Greenland’s ice experienced at least some melting in July 2012, scientists wondered if it was a one-time phenomenon. Now a new study in Geophysical Research Letters indicates it is a sign of things to come and by 2025, there is a 50-50 chance of it happening annually.
• Oil CEO: Humans are involved with climate change (Fuel Fix):
  
  But when asked about the role of government in discouraging greenhouse gas emissions, Lance said it needed careful consideration, even though ConocoPhillips operates in countries with such rules...."But we do think, as we think about this and try to tackle this issue as a global community, it needs to be tackled on a global scale and it needs to be industry blind. It needs to cut across all industries. you shouldn't be picking on one industry or another to try to solve the problem."
• New Study: Climate change: human disaster looms: Forecast global temperature rise of 4C a calamity for large swaths of planet even if predicted extremes are not reached (Guardian UK)
• 97% Scientisfic Consensus: Scientists united on climate change, at odds with public view (Reuters)
• Heat-Trapping Gas Passes 400ppm Milestone, Raising Fears (NY Times):
  
  "It feels like the inevitable march toward disaster," said Maureen E. Raymo, a scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a unit of Columbia University.
• Wall Street Journal's Idiocracy: CO2 Is What Plants Crave (Media Matters.org)
• U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Monsanto in Patent Fight (Reuters)
• Warning: Even in the best-case scenario, climate change will kick our asses (Grist)
• Unburnable fuel: Either governments are not serious about climate change or fossil-fuel firms are overvalued (The Economist) [emphasis added]:
  
  But what if some of those [fossil fuel] reserves can never be dug up and burned? ... If governments were determined to implement their climate policies, a lot of that carbon would have to be left in the ground...

• COVER STORY: It's Global Warming, Stupid (Businessweek):
  
  If all that doesn't impress, forget the scientists ostensibly devoted to advancing knowledge and saving lives. Listen instead to corporate insurers committed to compiling statistics for profit.
• Ocean Acidification: Animals are already dissolving in Southern Ocean (New Scientist)

• Skeptical Science: Get the FULL DEBUNKING of ALL Climate Science Denier Arguments
• VIDEO: James Hansen: Why I must speak out about climate change (TED Talks):
  
  Top climate scientist James Hansen tells the story of his involvement in the science of and debate over global climate change. In doing so he outlines the overwhelming evidence that change is happening and why that makes him deeply worried about the future.
• VIDEO ANIMATION: Time history of atmospheric CO2 (NOAA Carbon Tracker YouTube channel):
• VIDEO: Animation Charts Modern Global Warming (NYT Green)
• Thinking Big: NREL Study Shows 80 Percent Renewables Possible By 2050 (Climate Progress)
• Part 1: The brutal logic of climate change (David Roberts, Grist) [emphasis added]:
  
  It's simple: If there is to be any hope of avoiding civilization-threatening climate disruption, the U.S. and other nations must act immediately and aggressively on an unprecedented scale. That means moving to emergency footing. War footing. ...It is unpleasant to talk like this. People don't want to hear it.

                 

Article Categories: Missouri, Accountability, Environment, Barack Obama, Republicans, FEMA, Green News, James Inhofe, Nuclear power/weapons, Climate change, Extreme weather, Oklahoma, Hurricane Sandy, IRS/Taxes