• Weather

Tropical Storm Isaias Crawling Up the East Coast, Could Make Landfall In the Carolinas Overnight

• #HurricaneIsaias
• damage
• Flooding
• National Hurricane Center
• rain
• storm surge
• wind

Tropical Storm Isaias is slowly moving up the Eastern seaboard today, with its biggest risk for damage now in the Carolinas, as the storm remained offshore of Florida causing flooding due to storm surge rather than wind damage.  It will be a very wet few days for the East Coast with heavy rains and storm surge, and inland flooding all the way up to New England.

Why This Matters:  A new study out last week found what we are seeing play out with Tropical Storm Isaias.

• Ocean

Feds Propose to Spend Billions to Build Walls To Shore Up Miami From Sea Level Rise

• climate change
• coastal resilience
• Corps of Engineers
• Dade County
• Miami
• resilient cities
• sea level rise
• storm surge

Just as Tropical Storm Cristobal prepared to make landfall in Louisiana, the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) released a plan on Saturday to spend nearly $5B to build miles of sea walls around parts of Miami that are vulnerable to storm surge and sea-level rise, local media there reported.

Why This Matters:  Similar studies by the Army Corps are going on all over the country — New York City, Norfolk, Virginia, and in the Florida Keys.  The feds abruptly pulled in February the COE’s plans for a sea wall for New York City without comment.

• Politics

As Focus Shifts To NH, Climate Change and Clean Water Are Key Issues

• clean water
• climate change
• PFAS
• snow
• storm surge

Climate change and clean water are the two biggest environmental issues facing the Democratic Presidential candidates stumping in New Hampshire. 

Why This Matters:  Pollution and climate change were big issues in Iowa and they will be important in New Hampshire as well.  The recreation industry is poised to take a beating due to shortened ski seasons and PFAS contamination is pervasive and too expensive to clean up right now.

• People

Interview of the Week: Author Jeffrey Peterson

• climate change
• coastal communities
• Flooding
• sea level rise
• storm surge

Jeffrey Peterson has more than 40 years of experience in environmental policy both on the Hill and at EPA.  He recently wrote a book entitled “A New Coast” about the need for policies to respond to devastating storms and rising seas. ODP:  What motivated you to write about coastal adaptation after your long career in […]

• Ocean

NY Weighs Options For Defending Against the Next Superstorm

• Hudson River
• New York City
• New York Harbor
• sea level rise
• storm surge

After the environmental group American Rivers named the Hudson River the second-most endangered in the U.S., Yale Environment 360 took a look at why and found that the plans to protect the New York metro area from storms like Superstorm Sandy may be expensive and counterproductive, providing little protection from storm surge and at the […]

• Weather

Hurricane Dorian to Impact SC, NC, and VA – President is Focused on False Alabama Track

• climate change
• Flooding
• Hurricane Dorian
• storm surge
• storm track

The latest track of Hurricane Dorian is causing more disruption and dislocation as it moves up the East Coast today and tomorrow, with South and North Carolina and even Virginia in harm’s way as the storm re-strengthened to a strong Category 3, and its storm surge, torrential rains, and wind are expected to cause flooding […]