Experts: Extreme Weather Is Now The Norm, People Need To Shift Mindsets
The psychological concept that a disaster "can't happen to me" or that it can't happen to a person twice helps people cope emotionally but prevents them from adequately preparing, health experts told AP. In other news: President Donald Trump has hired at least three scientists well-known for their rejection of climate change.
AP:
Experts Say US Attitudes Toward Extreme Weather Events Like Texas' Flash Flooding Need Updating
Climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and intense, according to climate scientists and government data. But people and governments are generally living in the past and haven’t embraced that extreme weather is now the norm, to say nothing about preparing for the nastier future that’s in store, experts in meteorology, disasters and health told The Associated Press. (Borenstein, 7/9)
ABC News:
Natural Disasters Like Texas Floods Can Affect Mental Health, According To Experts
Central Texas is continuing to recover from devastating rains and "catastrophic" flooding that damaged homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people, many of whom were children. Victims and first responders may suffer physical injuries from natural disasters, such as floods, but psychologists and disaster experts say such events can also exact a heavy mental health toll – and the resources to address that cost may not always be available. (Kekatos, 7/8)
AP:
Texas Flooding Underscores Trump's Challenges In Replacing FEMA
Just weeks ago, President Donald Trump said he wanted to begin “phasing out” the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this hurricane season to “wean off of FEMA” and “bring it down to the state level.” But after months of promises to overhaul or eliminate the federal agency charged with responding to disasters, Trump and his administration are touting a fast and robust federal response to the devastating Texas floods. In doing so, they are aligning more closely with a traditional model of disaster response — and less with the dramatic reform the president has proposed. (Aoun Angueira, 7/9)
The New York Times:
Trump Hires Scientists Who Doubt The Consensus On Climate Change
The Energy Department has hired at least three scientists who are well-known for their rejection of the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, according to records reviewed by The New York Times. The scientists are listed in the Energy Department’s internal email system as current employees of the agency, the records show. They are Steven E. Koonin, a physicist and author of a best-selling book that calls climate science “unsettled”; John Christy, an atmospheric scientist who doubts the extent to which human activity has caused global warming; and Roy Spencer, a meteorologist who believes that clouds have had a greater influence on warming than humans have. (Joselow, 7/8)
More climate news from North Carolina, Hawaii, and Europe —
North Carolina Health News:
Thousands In NC Prisons Endure Summer Heat Without Air Conditioning
April Barber Scales recalls her 18 summers spent incarcerated without air conditioning at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh — the state’s largest women’s prison — as physically and mentally demanding as she said relief from the grueling heat was hard to come by. She dripped sweat constantly, felt endlessly sticky and even saw people faint from the heat. (Crumpler, 7/9)
Military.com:
Colonel Retaliated Against Major For Talking To Congress About Hawaii Drinking Water Contamination, Report Says
An Air Force colonel retaliated against an Army major for speaking out to Congress and a Department of Defense watchdog about the contamination fallout from the 2021 Red Hill fuel leak that tainted drinking water in Hawaii, a new report details. The 25-page report said that investigators substantiated an allegation that an Air Force colonel had retaliated against Army Maj. Amanda Feindt after she had meetings with members of Congress about the Red Hill contamination and pressured her not to continue communication. (Novelly, 7/8)
CNN:
Extreme Heat Is A Killer. A Recent Heat Wave Shows How Much More Deadly It's Becoming As Humans Warm The World
Extreme heat is a killer and its impact is becoming far, far deadlier as the human-caused climate crisis supercharges temperatures, according to a new study, which estimates global warming tripled the number of deaths in the recent European heat wave. (Paddlson, 7/9)
