Category: Health & Safety

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Western Storms Bring Flood Threats, Snow for Christmas

12/24/2021 - LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two people died in a submerged car, evacuations were ordered for wildfire-scarred California, and Seattle and Portland faced the rare chance of snowy streets as a wave of storms rolled through the West. An atmospheric river — a sky-born plume of moisture from the Pacific Ocean… SEE MORE

coastal flooding

December 2021 – News from Our Coasts

12/21/2021 - NEWS & UPDATES FOR DECEMBER Updates from US Harbors News & Virtual Events from Our Partners Updates from Our Coastal Business Community Photos of the Month Updates from US Harbors Last month, US Harbors hosted an online conference to help coastal communities--and their citizens--understand and prepare for changes in coastal… SEE MORE

New Research Finds Salt May Be Key to Predicting Hurricane Intensity

12/20/2021 - By Mike Schuler. It’s no secret that salt has played an outsized role throughout human history. Now, new research conducted by NOAA, with the help from Saildrone’s unmanned surface vehicles, says the element could potentially lead to improved forecasts of the most dangerous hurricanes. While NOAA has made steady progress… SEE MORE

New Right Whale Slow Zone East of Ocean City, Maryland

12/16/2021 - On December 11, 2021, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's acoustic array detected the presence of right whales east of Ocean City, Maryland. A VOLUNTARY Right Whale Slow Zone is in effect immediately and expires on December 26, 2021. Mariners are requested to avoid or transit at 10 knots or less… SEE MORE

Rain, Snow Fall as California Braces for Brunt of Storm

12/13/2021 - By Felicia Fonseca. The Western U.S. is bracing for the brunt of a major winter storm expected to hit Monday, bringing travel headaches, the threat of localized flooding and some relief in an abnormally warm fall. Light rain and snow fell in Northern California on Sunday, giving residents a taste… SEE MORE

California

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/10/us/oysters-new-york-hudson-river.html

11 Million New Oysters in New York Harbor (but None for You to Eat)

12/12/2021 - By Karen Zraick. The restoration of New York Harbor has reached a new milestone as 2021 draws to a close: 11.2 million juvenile oysters have been added in the past six months to a section of the Hudson River off the coast of Lower Manhattan, where they are helping to filter… SEE MORE

Storm Sweeps Hawaii, Brings Threat of ‘Catastrophic’ Floods

12/7/2021 - By Caleb Jones. HONOLULU (AP) — A strong storm packing high winds and extremely heavy rain flooded roads and knocked out power across Hawaii, with officials warning Monday of potentially worse conditions ahead. The National Weather Service said the storm brings the threat of “catastrophic flooding” in the coming days… SEE MORE

How a Native American Tribe on Long Island is Losing its Land to Rising Seas

12/6/2021 - By Emma Newberger. SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — The Shinnecock Indian Nation once had seasonal villages that stretched across the eastern end of Long Island. But after centuries of land loss and forced relocation, more than 600 tribe members now live on a shrinking 1.5 square mile peninsula. The Shinnecock, whose name… SEE MORE

https://apnews.com/article/science-health-business-environment-recycling-e40323953e5adffb32f73b60c9bb2202

Science Report: US Should Make Less Plastic to Save Oceans

12/5/2021 - By Seth Borenstein. America needs to rethink and reduce the way it generates plastics because so much of the material is littering the oceans and other waters, the National Academy of Sciences says in a new report. The United States, the world’s top plastics waste producer, generates more than 46… SEE MORE

Whales putting on a show in front of volunteers at Race Point Light, off Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Protect Your Boat and Crew this Whale Calving Season

12/2/2021 - If you plan to boat or fish in the Atlantic Ocean this winter, be on the lookout for North Atlantic Right Whales who are calving in state and federal waters off Florida, Georgia and South Carolina from November through April. These endangered mammals are extremely hard to spot and collisions have… SEE MORE