UPDATE: June 25, 2008, 11:06 pm

Massive amounts of crop land have been destroyed by the flooding. In Iowa more, than 3.3 million acres of corn and soybean fields have been washed out. With 16% of the state’s farmland under water, it is safe to estimate the total cost of the damage will at least match the cost of the flooding in 1993, fifteen to twenty-billion dollars. Check out more at U.S. and World Report. Part of that financial damage will affect all of us, with global flooding diminishing crop returns earlier this year, our domestic harvest was more important than ever. In 2007 the food inflation rate was at 2.1%. It is now 6.7%. For a great explanation of this, read this article by Jennifer Openshaw with Market Watch.

June 25, 2008, 2:43 am (Original Post)

The worst of it seems to be over, but now the Midwest is left to wait weeks for the water to recede in many

places. What started with some of the worst tornadoes on record, has become a natural disaster of incredible proportions. Tens of thousands were evacuated from Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana, and

over eleven-million people have been affected by the extreme weather, says FEMA. Please check out the Breitbart article for more information.

“Although no single weather event can be attributed to global warming, it’s critical to understand that a warming climate is supplying the very conditions that fuel these kinds of weather events: it is a law of physics that warmer air is able to carry more water.” – Larry Schweiger, President & CEO, National Wildlife Federation, On Global Warming and the Catastrophic Flooding in the Central U.S.

UPDATE: June 25, 2008, 10:03 pm

Based on information from Google’s excellent map resources, I can confirm at least 174,468 acres have been burned as of two hours ago, with several of the larger fires still at 0-10% containment. It is a little odd that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is only reporting a total acreage burned of 104,821… I’ll keep an eye on official versus independent reports concerning this. Each pin on the map represent a major fire.

Interested in how fires in California can effect people NOT actually in California? Sign On San Diego reports that in Reno, Nevada they have issued a Stage One Alert due to the unhealthy air from the fires, with visibility reduced to as low as three miles. It is also suggested Las Vegas could be covered in thick haze, but the effect on air quality would be negligible. Credit to the Associated Press as well.

June 25, 2008, 1:09 am (Original Post)

It took less than twenty-four hours for an electrical storm to let loose eight-thousand lightning strikes, starting more than 800 wildfires across Northern California. Check out the AP report, with contributions by Alicia Chang.

“You’re looking at a pattern that’s climatological rare. We typically don’t see this happen at this time of summer, to see 8,000, that’s way up there on the scale.” – John Juskie, Science Officer with the National Weather Service in Sacramento

One problem is that the storm brought lots of lightning, but the rain that came along “evaporated in hot, dry

layers of the atmosphere before it hit the ground,” said Juskie. Is there a connection between a storm like this and Global Warming? Let us look into that…

On August 31st, 2007, NASA Scientists created a new climate model (article is from Science Daily), the indications were that violent severe storms and tornadoes may become a more common occurence as the climate warms. Lighting produced in storms often ignites

wildfires in dry or drought stricken areas. Findings lead researchers to predict that some regions (California?) would have less humidity in the air, and be more prone to wildfires as a result. It makes sense to think that with drier conditions, there will be fewer storms… but is that a good thing?

“These findings may seem to imply that fewer storms in the future will be good news for disastrous western U.S. wildfires, But drier conditions near the ground combined with higher lightning flash rates per storm may end up intensifying wildfire damage instead.” – Tony Del Genio, lead author of the study and a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York.

In 1988 Senator Al Gore and Senator Tim Wirth organized a Senate Hearing to allow testimony from James Hansen, he proceeded to inform them (during a heatwave) that Global Warming was already here. In Hansen’s words at that time… “Number one, the earth is warmer in 1988 than at any time in the history of instrumental measurements. Number two, the global warming is now large enough that we can ascribe, with a high degree of confidence, a cause-and-effect relationship to the greenhouse effect.”

Precisely twenty years after his first warning, he has come back to say that the world has now long passed the “dangerous level” of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and at this point in time our atmosphere can only remain this way for a few more decades without changes such as mass extinction, sea level rises, and ecosystem collapse.

“We’re toast if we don’t get on a very different path” – James Hansen

So what does Hansen think about our chances of turning things around? The answer: We can still stop the worst, but we don’t have much time. Already we’re seeing the signs, within five to ten years the Arctic will be free of sea ice in the summer, just as predicted.

“Dr. Hansen was right. Twenty years later, we recognize him as a climate prophet.” – Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., committee chairman

Be sure to check out the article at USA Today for more information.