| Matthew’s 1-in-1000 Year Rainfall: Hurricane Matthew caused levels of rainfall in the Carolinas usually seen once in a 1,000 years, according to a new analysis by NOAA. This is the sixth thousand-year rainfall event in the US since last October. Parts of North Carolina received up to 14 inches of rain, leading to record flooding and several deaths. Damages from Matthew total at least $4 billion, and the number of Americans filing for jobless claims rose the week after the storm. Warmer oceans and high atmospheric moisture due to rising temperatures fueled the storm’s intensity. (Pacific Standard, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Grist, Wall Street Journal $)
Solar Capacity Leaps in the US: Utility-scale solar power in the US will increase by nearly 40 percent from 10 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2014 to 27 GW in 2017, according to a new report by the Department of Energy. Corporations are also building their solar arsenals, another new report by the Solar Energy Industries Association shows. Compared with other American businesses, Target produces the most solar power, with 147 megawatts (MW) of solar at 300 facilities. It’s beaten Walmart, which produces 145 MW at 364 locations. Every week, two percent of the US population visits a solar-powered Walmart. (Climate Central, Fortune)
In Vino Veritas: Global wine production for 2016 is projected to fall five percent from last year due to “climatic events,” according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine. Global production could be among the lowest in 20 years, led by a drastic disruption in South America and a 12 percent decline in France, the world’s second largest producer, due to frost and hailstorms in the spring and drought in the summer. Weather volatility and rising temperatures are predicted to increasingly impact wines. (Guardian, Mashable, CNN Money, Miami Herald, Sputnik International) |
