3 Stories You Should Read 8/29/2019: DHS, Fracking, Dorian
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In the category of: Not the guest anyone wants
Hurricane Dorian intensifies as it heads for US
Dorian is currently spinning in the Atlantic Ocean with winds up to 110 mph.
So far, the storm has swept across the British and US Virgin Islands and whipped Puerto Rico with rain. It’s expected to get even stronger over the next few days — with winds reaching up to about 130 mph — though it will likely slow down before it hits.
If Dorian continues on its current forecast, it will smack Grand Bahama island on Sunday before it makes landfall in Florida on Monday.
Remember: We’re still a few days out, so the storm could land anywhere from the Florida Keys to southeast Georgia. CNN meteorologist Judson Jones predicted on Thursday that it could be between the Space Coast and West Palm Beach.
In the category of: Now what??
The mysterious recent spike in methane emissions? It just might be US fracking.
A few studies, including a major one in the journal Science in 2016, largely traced the recent spike in methane to biogenic sources, mainly because recent atmospheric methane has been “lighter,” depleted of its heavier carbon stable isotope (13C). Generally speaking, fossil fuel production produces heavier methane and biogenic sources produce lighter methane, so researchers have taken the trend as an indication that the recent spike is mostly biogenic in origin.
But it was a perplexing finding, one that the Science authors characterized as “unexpected, given the recent boom in unconventional gas production and reported resurgence in coal mining and the Asian economy.” If you see a big boom in fossil fuel production happening alongside a big spike in methane, you might expect to find the two connected.
In the category of: Things you can’t unsee
DHS Blocks House Oversight Staff From Visiting Migrant Detention Centers
Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Elijah Cummings said DHS is blocking staff from visiting facilities after previous inspections revealed mistreatment of migrants.
The Department of Homeland Security is blocking House Oversight Committee staff from visiting migrant detention centers after previous committee inspections revealed serious problems at the border facilities, according to the committee.
Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent a letter Thursday to Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan objecting to the agency’s last-minute decision to block committee staff from visiting this week, and requesting DHS allow “meaningful access” to these facilities again.
“I am writing to express my deep concern that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decided to block Committee staff from conducting visits to 11 detention facilities just days after previous staff inspections revealed potentially serious ongoing problems with the treatment of children and adults in DHS custody ― including blocking visits to sites where the Inspector General warned about ‘an immediate risk to the health and safety of DHS agents and officers, and to those detained,’” Cummings wrote in the letter.
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