"Rain swells 33 rivers in Mass., which are near flooding levels" by Brian Ballou | Globe Staff, June 15, 2013
NATICK — The incessant rain since Thursday has swelled rivers in many sections of Massachusetts, from the Hoosic River near Williamstown to the Taunton River near Bridgewater....
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for areas across much of Eastern Massachusetts, but many of the rivers are receding. Forecasters said residents living in flood-prone areas and along river banks should stay alert.
In a span of 33 hours, roughly 1½ to 3 inches of rain fell in Massachusetts. Royalston and Holliston have seen the most rain, with 2.95 inches reported, followed by Hudson with 2.71 and Auburn with 2.7.
In April and May, 4.59 inches of rain fell, 2.64 inches less than normal. But June has made up for that, recording 7.39 inches of rain, 5.5 inches more than normal for the month. This year, there has been 21.6 inches of rainfall, 1.6 inches above normal....
That explains the the cooler weather so far this spring.
In Shrewsbury, the week’s heavy rains caused the sanitary sewer system near the old waste-water treatment plant to overflow Friday with storm water, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. The overflow caused a manhole cover to be dislodged, and a combination of untreated sewage and stormwater was flowing into Hop Brook at a rate of up to 1 million gallons a day, the department said.
The brook also flows into Smith Pond and Thayer Pond, both in Northborough, and the department advised all residents to avoid contact with all three bodies of water through the weekend.
I wouldn't go in all summer now.
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Related: Boston has had more rain than Seattle this June
"Three additional deaths in North Carolina are being blamed on the massive storm system that started in the Upper Midwest and brought soaking rains and heavy winds to the Mid-Atlantic."
Also see: Wellesley pond where boy drowned to get review
Related:
Drownings claim 2 in Wellesley, Charlton
Wellesley beach was staffed as boy, 10, drowned, police say
"Obama to unveil climate package in July; Proposals aimed at opponents of Keystone pipeline" by Lisa Lerer | Bloomberg News, June 15, 2013
WASHINGTON — With his administration under pressure from environmentalists to reject the Keystone XL pipeline project, President Obama plans to unveil a package of separate actions next month focused on curbing US greenhouse gas emissions.
Shutting down the biggest global-warming gas belcher, the US empire, would be a good start. All drones grounded and all ground operations postponed until further notice.
Related: Boston Globe Energizer
And it's oil for export, Americans.
At closed-door fund-raisers held over the past few weeks, the president has been telling Democratic party donors that he will unveil new climate proposals in July, according to people who have attended the events or been briefed.
WHO LEAKED IT??!!!!!????
I want an INVESTIGATION NOW!!
WHO LEAKED THIS??!!!
Yeah, and leave him to July -- the hottest month of the year -- to put out his propaganda plan. Everyone will nod and say, "Yeah, he's got a point, it's hot."
He's only doing this because he has got HEAT ON HIM for all the SCANDALS! Spying on the press, spying on the public, spying on political enemies, spying on environmentalists!!
Yeah, NSA got all your stuff, and some environmental groups have been tagged "terrorist."
Obama’s promise frequently comes in response to pleas from donors to reject TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL project, a $5.3 billion pipeline that would carry tar-sands oil from Canada to US refineries. Opponents of the pipeline say it would increase greenhouse-gas emissions by encouraging use of the tar sands.
While Obama has not detailed the specifics of his plan to the donors, pipeline opponents anticipate the package will include a plan from the Environmental Protection Agency to issue final rules to limit greenhouse-gas emissions from new power plants.
In April, the EPA delayed issuing the rule after the electric-power industry objected on legal and technical grounds. Since then, the agency has been rewriting the rule to address those concerns....
Industry always trumps environment; otherwise, the car races would have ended long ago.
Final decisions about the specific policies included in the president’s package are still being made, according to a person close to the White House.
WHO is the LEAKER?!!
I WANNA KNOW WHO the LEAKER IS -- and why aren't they being pilloried like Snowden?
Speaking to donors in Palo Alto, Calif., last week, Obama called the need for action on climate change one of the ‘‘most important decisions’’ facing the country....
Excuse me, what you say?
Moving all that military gear to Syria isn't going to help, and maybe John Kerry could give the god-damn airplane a rest, huh?
With Congress unlikely to take up a climate bill, the plans largely focus on actions the president can take with his existing executive authority. Internally, White House officials have been soliciting ideas for administrative actions that can be taken to curb greenhouse gases.
It's called a DICTATORSHIP!
White House officials didn’t reply to a request for comment.
Administration aides, however, hinted earlier this week that more action may be coming soon.
Climate advocates have urged the president to move quickly and release plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Any climate proposal released by the White House could be overshadowed politically by the controversy over the Keystone XL pipeline.
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Thank God the rest of the world is slowing us down:
"Dispute threatens world talks on emissions" by Karl Ritter | Associated Press, June 15, 2013
BONN — UN climate talks have hit a stumbling block that some delegates say poses a serious challenge to their already slow-moving attempt to craft a global response to climate change.
As the latest negotiation session ended Friday, one track of the talks was paralyzed by a request by Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus to review the decision-making procedure in the two-decade-long UN process.
That is because after suffering two of the worst winters on record and seeing the Arctic iced over the Russians have finally seen the light through the fart mist.
Yeah, I know you never saw any of that in da paper! Of course, it's a good excuse to wage war on Russia (after Syria). Those Ruskies are heating up the planet!
Decisions in the UN climate discussions are supposed to be taken by consensus — but it is not totally clear what that means in practice. While many agree the decision-making procedure needs to be clarified, they worry that the issue could block the talks at a time when urgent action is needed to tackle climate change.
‘‘If we’re not careful, it could collapse the whole system,’’ said Ronald Jumeau, a delegate from the Seychelles.
At several climate conferences, after overnight debates with endless interventions, decisions have been gaveled through despite protests.
That occurred in Cancun, Mexico, in 2010, when Bolivia was overruled. Last year in Qatar, it happened to Russia, when its objections to a package of decisions including an extension of the 1997 emissions treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol were ignored.
Russia was outraged, and backed by Ukraine and Belarus it used the Bonn session to call for a discussion on the rules of procedure. It did so in a subsidiary body that was supposed to work on a ‘‘loss and damage’’ mechanism for aid to developing countries hit by climate-related disasters. That work never got started because of disputes about how to address decision-making .
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"Colo. firefighters learning from past" Associated Press, June 15, 2013
COLORADO SPRINGS — Crews battling the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history say they were better prepared to take on the flames because of lessons learned fighting last year’s Waldo Canyon Fire, a similarly devastating blaze only a few miles away that devoured hundreds of homes and killed two people.
When the thickly wooded rural region north of Colorado Springs known as the Black Forest began to burn this week, authorities swiftly evacuated tens of thousands of people from a swath of land larger than the Denver metropolitan area.
They immediately began hand-counting destroyed houses to get information out to nervous homeowners. And they rushed federal troops and aircraft into action, cutting the red tape that had grounded those resources a year ago.
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Yeah, it's all a big success.
Related:
"The Black Forest Fire has destroyed at least 360 houses, and an estimated 40,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes. The blaze is now the most destructive in Colorado history."
Oh, btw, fires make it seem hotter. That sure will make you forget the harsh winter, the cold snap, and record spring snowfall.
