Monday February 18, 2013, 8:08 am


Mother Jones
Government Watchdog Says Climate Change and Weird Weather Will Cost Big Bucks
Disasters like Hurricane Sandy are a giant fiscal risk, says the Government Accountability Office in a new report.

By Kate Sheppard | Thu Feb. 14, 2013 1:16 PM PST

Every two years, the Government Accountability Office—the independent agency charged with keeping an eye on how Congress spends our money—releases a list of programs and issues that present a high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. This year, for the first time, the agency added climate change planning and response to the list—a reflection of the fact that the agency sees climate as a big fiscal risk for the US.

The GAO only added two new areas to its list this year that it believes creates risk. Climate change was one of them, along with the gaps in our weather satellite program. Here's how the GAO summed up the risks:

Limiting the Federal Government’s Fiscal Exposure by Better Managing Climate Change Risks. Climate change creates significant financial risks for the federal government, which owns extensive infrastructure, such as defense installations; insures property through the National Flood Insurance Program; and provides emergency aid in response to natural disasters. The federal government is not well positioned to address the fiscal exposure presented by climate change, and needs a government wide strategic approach with strong leadership to manage related risks.

Mitigating Gaps in Weather Satellite Data. Potential gaps in environmental satellite data beginning as early as 2014 and lasting as long as 53 months have led to concerns that future weather forecasts and warnings—including warnings of extreme events such as hurricanes, storm surges, and floods—will be less accurate and timely. A number of decisions are needed to ensure contingency and continuity plans can be implemented effectively.

On climate, the full report notes that the federal government was asked to pay out $60.4 billion in recovery funds for Hurricane Sandy alone. That's just part of an overall trend in increased disasters in the US that the GAO flags—including a record 98 disaster declarations in fiscal year 2011, up from 65 in 2004. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was on the hook for more than $80 billion in federal assistance between 2004 and 2011. And the federal government owns or insures a lot of at-risk property, in addition to managing 29 percent of the total land in the US.

The whole idea of the GAO list is to identify problem areas and try to fix them, so that we're not wasting money in the future. But the GAO notes that, since it started the list in 1990, only one-third of the issues it flagged have been addressed to the point that they could actually be removed from the list.
Source URL: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/02/gao-climate-change-fiscal-risk

Monday February 18, 2013, 8:10 am
Results of this weird weather... might mean that we will be spending more money in the USA than on foreign soils.

Monday February 18, 2013, 8:14 am
We can't fight Mother Nature. Devastating hurricanes have been around for six decades or more. The El Nino affect off the coast of Africa is a great research topic for the liberals.

Monday February 18, 2013, 8:21 am
How does the Tsunami develop?

Everybody knows that what goes up must come down. This is particularly true for water which always likes to form a nice flat surface. So once the mountain of water has risen up the next step is for the sea to level itself out.

The mountain of water comes back down. This pushes the water that was underneath it outwards. The force of the water moves through the ocean causing an underwater force that travels for hundreds of Kilometres. The force of the water can reach speeds of up to 800kmh as it surges through the ocean. The energy is underwater and is not noticeable on the surface.

As this force travels through the ocean it may eventually reach the shore. At this point, the sea becomes shallower. However, the energy in the water is still the same. The enegery is compressed and the water is pushed upwards. This is how the energy is transferred from being underater into waves on the surface.

Tsunami Information: Find out everything about tsunamis and when the next one's likely to hit

National Earthquake Information Center - NEIC

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

USGS - U.S. Geological Survey

NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

PNSN - Pacific Northwest Seismic Network

Can anything be done?
Unfortunately nothing can be done to prevent Tsunamis. However, there are several organisations that use complex technology to monitor movement of the earths plates and sudden changes in water movement. There are also warning and evacuation procedures in place around countries like Japan and Hawaii where Tsunamis are frequent.

Any sudden earthquake that happens underwater will be detected in the same manner of on on-shore earthquake. These are measured in the Richter scale. If this is recorded then warning systems can sometimes be activated to evacuate people.

Wreckage from Aleutian Islands Tsunami history
Indonesia - 26 December 2004
Papua New Guinea - 17 July 1998
Sea of Japan - 26 May 1983
Alaska Britis Columbia - 27 March 1964
Chili - 22 May 1960
Aleutian Islands - 1 April 1946



Now read these other great information-packed tsunami hubs
What are the effects of a tsunami?
The effects of a tsunami are devastating. They are ond of the world's worst natural disasters that can hit a country. Tsunami damage is first caused by the immense force of the tidal wave hitting the...
The biggest tsunamis in history
The biggest tsunami ever was caused y an enormous 8.3 magnitude earthquake in Alaska on July 9, 1958. A landslide of rock fell into a lake and caused a wave bigger than the Empire State Building. Read more...
What are tsunamis and where do they happen?
Tsunamis are large, powerful waves that hit land and have devastating effects. They most often begin in the ocean and travel through the water to the nearest coastline.
How to survive a tsunami: A guide to escaping a natural disaster
Millions of people have been killed by tsunamis in the last hundred years alone. But there are precautions that everybody can take to saves lives and prevent injury.
Japan 2011: The tsunami that caused a nuclear meltdown
The tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 caused widespread devastation, but also threatened one of the worst nuclear meltdowns that the world has seen in decades. Six months on, the country is still struggling to contain radiation levels at the damage.

Google this information if you are interested. Plenty of websites about Mother Nature.

We can't do anything about tornados either.

Total waste of time....

Monday February 18, 2013, 12:05 pm
So sad that some persist in denial of science. Construction standards and building codes have always been based on known weather and historical patterns of tornados, earthquakes, etc. Anyone who does any real research knows this and planners need to identify the appropriate changes to meet the climate changed weather patterns. Apparently some do not believe this is a role of government and do not want the buildings they live and work and shop in to be safe.
You cannot currently send a star to janice because you have done so within the last week.

Monday February 18, 2013, 12:50 pm
It's the role of the states. Think: Katrina and the levies Think: Americans who insist on living next to the water along the gulf. Think: people who live in San Francisco and earthquakes The same is true for countries who have experienced tsunamis and they go right back and build their homes on the water.

It isn't the taxpayer's responsibility to continue to rebuild in states where they never learn from experience.

Monday February 18, 2013, 3:39 pm
The levy systems throughout the country are national --civil engineering core responsibilities--they both build and maintain that infrastructure for all of us--NOT states, counties or cities (rivers do not stay within one jurisdiction smaller than national)

Monday February 18, 2013, 6:45 pm
Thanks

Monday February 18, 2013, 6:47 pm
You are welcome Kenneth

Monday February 18, 2013, 9:47 pm
And what will be done BEFORE it is too late?

AFTERMATH

4 Degrees Warmer

Monday February 18, 2013, 9:52 pm
Thanks for posting the links to the two short topical videos Terry! And that is indeed the question. You cannot currently send a star to Terry because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday February 19, 2013, 5:10 am
Maybe those words will get some of the hardheads' attention.

Tuesday February 19, 2013, 5:15 am
ty

Tuesday February 19, 2013, 6:13 am
You cannot currently send a star to John because you have done so within the last week.
You are welcome Ro

Tuesday February 19, 2013, 6:47 am
Oh, heck, why don't we just keep spewing poisons into the air, fracking under the earth, cutting down rain forests, destroying entire ecosystems? And then while we're at it, why don't we just roll up in little balls and decide we're all going to die eventually so why not now? The problem, Ms O, is that we do keep fighting Mother Nature - we keep trying to abuse her, control her, manipulate her, destroy her and then we wonder why she fights back so nastily sometimes. It's either try to do something positive NOW while we still can or just sit back and try to pick up the pieces later...

Tuesday February 19, 2013, 6:50 am
You cannot currently send a star to Arielle because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday February 19, 2013, 7:21 am
Since your threads have become the new "victim" and are "haunted" I frankly hesitate to comment..-thx anyway JL ;)

Tuesday February 19, 2013, 11:37 am
You cannot currently send a star to Angelika because you have done so within the last week.

Wednesday February 20, 2013, 4:11 am
Oh, my!

We might not be able to support our enemies any longer.

Wednesday February 20, 2013, 7:35 am
You cannot currently send a star to Zee because you have done so within the last week.