Tag Archives: climate change

It’s hurricane forecast season

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna be busy again. You should know what to do about it by now. Another above-average hurricane season is in the forecast for 2022. A prediction issued Thursday by scientists at Colorado State University says there will be at least … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on It’s hurricane forecast season

Metro electric bus update

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some new details here. Within the next year or so, you’ll see electric-powered buses buzzing around Bayou City. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) recently awarded a $22 million contract to Saint-Eustache, Canada-based Nova Bus for the production … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Metro electric bus update

Climate change and freezing weather

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A little science for you. It was the coldest February Texas had seen in more than four decades, and the sustained blast of arctic air knocked out much of the state’s power grid for several days, causing hundreds of deaths … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Our cow poop future

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a resource we have a lot of, to be sure. TotalEnergies plans to build its first biomethane plant in the Texas Panhandle to produce renewable transportation fuel from cow manure. The French oil major on Tuesday said it has … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The 2021 hurricane season is now over

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It was another bad one, even if it maybe didn’t feel so bad from our local perspective. The 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season [ended] Tuesday with 21 named storms, four major hurricanes and a new addition to the list of costliest … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Metro approves electric bus purchase

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We should have them in a few months. Metro is charging ahead with its plan to add electric buses to the local transit fleet. Board members Thursday approved a $22 million contract for 20 new buses and chargers that will … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rolling coal

Posted on November 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From last week. A teen who struck six cyclists while allegedly blanketing them in black smoke along a Waller County road faces six felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. “One for each of the people he almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ten years after the Bastrop fire

Posted on November 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The headline on this story asks whether Texas is ready for the next big fire. I think we know the answer to that. Ten years ago, Texas experienced it’s worst wildfire disaster in the state’s history. Over 31 thousand fires … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Climate change is bad for Texas

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering. Climate change has made the Texas heat worse, with less relief as nighttime temperatures warm, a report from the state’s climatologist published Thursday found. Climate data also show that the state is experiencing extreme rainfall … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It could have been worse

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just something to ponder, from Space City Weather. First of all, if you can remember all the way back to Saturday, I presented three different scenarios for Nicholas’ track and eventual flooding in Houston. The first of these was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It could have been worse

Another catastrophe averted, for us

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sooner or later our luck is going to run out. If Hurricane Ida had veered west and hit Galveston, its 15-foot storm surge could have devastated the city and plowed up the Houston Ship Channel, smashing into residential communities and … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Here come those electric buses

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here comes the commitment to buy them, anyway. Local transit officials no longer are blowing hot air about the emissions coming out of Metro buses. Board members Thursday approved a plan for all new Metropolitan Transit Authority buses to produce … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s the quick intensification of the hurricanes for me

Posted on August 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

New things to keep you up at night. It’s a nightmare scenario that keeps forecasters up at night: A tropical cyclone strengthens quickly over a 24-hour period. It happened last year close to home with Hurricane Laura, which evolved from Category 1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Metro seeks electric buses

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Proof of concept for now and contingent on a competitive federal grant, but hopefully the start of something bigger. Transit officials in the self-proclaimed energy capital of the world are recharging their attempts to wean Metro off fossil fuels. Metropolitan … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

There sure were a lot of named storms this year

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Thirty of them, in fact. The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season had a record 30 named storms. Twelve made landfall in the continental U.S., including five in Louisiana. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30 (that’s next week, so fingers crossed there isn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on There sure were a lot of named storms this year

Houston’s hottest neighborhoods

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s temperature hot, not realtor hot. This summer, Houston joins 13 other cities in a massive, community-driven, heat mapping project. More than 80 volunteers like Powers and her son, dubbed “street scientists” by the organizing groups, covered roughly 300 square … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Houston’s hottest neighborhoods

When Houston is more like Austin

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In a climate sense. Which is to say, drier because of climate change. A new study predicts that Texas’ climate is going to get drastically drier because of climate change. The journal Earth’s Future recently published the study looking at … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on When Houston is more like Austin

More like Ike than Harvey

Posted on July 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure this is a choice I want to have to make, but here we are. Hurricanes are expected to blow through Texas more quickly during the last 25 years of this century. A study led by Rice University researcher … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on More like Ike than Harvey

Houston’s Climate Action Plan

Posted on May 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We have one, with goals for 2050. Houston’s first Climate Action Plan calls on the city’s 4,600 energy companies to lead the transition to renewable sources, while residents are asked to swap car rides for mass transit and work to … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Resilient Houston

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to have a plan. No traffic deaths on Houston streets, 4.6 million new trees, and no more homes in the floodway. All by 2030. Those are some of the lofty goals set in the master resiliency plan, “Resilient … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A little national press for the Railroad Commissioner race

Posted on February 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Bloomberg News notes that the Texas Railroad Commission could have a significant effect on climate change, if it wanted to. Booming oil and gas production across the Permian Basin of West Texas has made this little-known regulator, with three voting … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sea levels rise, property values drop

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Cool, cool, cool. Sea level rise has cost Texas homeowners $76.4 million in potential property value, with Galveston hit the hardest, a new study released Tuesday found. First Street Foundation and Columbia University analysts examined about 3 million coastal properties … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Climate change and hurricanes

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’re living it now. A group of top hurricane experts, including several federal researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, published striking new research Thursday, suggesting that hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean have grown considerably worse and that climate … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Climate change and hurricanes

El Nino 2018

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here it comes. Houstonians can expect more rain than usual — and possibly street flooding — this winter, thanks to El Niño. The National Weather Service forecasts an 80 percent chance for a weak to moderate El Niño this winter, … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Look out for lionfish

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, it’s another destructive invasive species, aided and abetted by climate change. Scientists battling coral reef deaths caused by warming ocean waters 100 miles off the coast of Galveston might now have another climate change problem to fight in coming … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Look out for lionfish

Typhus in Galveston

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

An infectious disease update for you. Typhus fever, a disease carried by fleas and once thought to be eradicated, is rearing its head in Galveston County, county health officials said on Monday. The Galveston County Health District reported that 18 … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Typhus in Galveston

Rio Seco

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is not good. Mario Rosales, who farms 365 acres along the Rio Grande, knows the river is in bad shape this year. It has already dried to a dusty ribbon of sand in some parts, and most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Rio Seco

From Harvey to drought

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. The Texas Panhandle has become ground zero in a drought that has crept into much of the state just five months after Hurricane Harvey — including areas that suffered massive flooding during the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The climate change effect on storms like Harvey

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

More likely and more extreme is the tl;dr version of this. The research presented Wednesday began soon after Harvey dumped feet of rain on the Houston area. World Weather Attribution — an international effort to analyze the potential influence of … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The climate change effect on storms like Harvey

Thunderstorms are going to get worse

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Just FYI. Summer thunderstorms in North America will likely be larger, wetter and more frequent in a warmer world, dumping 80 percent more rain in some areas and worsening flooding, a new study says. Future storms will also be wilder, … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Thunderstorms are going to get worse

The 100-year-storm isn’t what it used to be

Posted on November 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

They’re bigger. More than three months after Hurricane Harvey battered southeast Texas with unprecedented and costly flooding, an analysis of rainfall trends across Texas suggests the standards used to develop floodplain regulations, map flood zones and design flood control projects … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More Harveys

Posted on November 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, climate change. The extreme rains that inundated the Houston area during Hurricane Harvey were made more likely by climate change, a new study suggests, adding that such extreme flooding events will only become more frequent as the globe continues … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on More Harveys

Lamar Smith to retire

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good riddance. U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio said Tuesday he is retiring from Congress. “For several reasons, this seems like a good time to pass on the privilege of representing the 21st District to someone else,” he wrote in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Another national publication looks at CD07

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Mother Jones, come on down. In addition to [Laura] Moser, the top competitors for the March primary are first-time candidates with stories that fit the political moment in different ways. Lizzie Fletcher, a well-connected lawyer at a large downtown firm, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Another national publication looks at CD07