Don't worry, be happy!
"One of the world's largest chemical companies warned Wednesday that its flooded plant near Houston will likely catch fire and explode in the next few days — and there's nothing the company can do about it."
"Arkema Group's plant in Crosby, Texas — about 20 miles northeast of Houston — was inundated by more than 40 inches of rain by Hurricane Harvey and has been without electricity since Sunday, the company, based in Colombes, France, said in a statement."
"The plant manufactures organic peroxides commonly used in everyday products like kitchen countertops, industrial paints, polystyrene cups and plates and PVC piping. The materials must be kept very cool, but refrigerators for the plant's low-temperature containers are out of commission, and backup generators were also swamped, meaning "the potential for a chemical reaction leading to a fire and/or explosion within the site confines is real," the company said."
The U.S. standards for our two deadliest air pollutants--ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter less than 2.5%
"The odds favor a hotter than average summer for much of the Western U.S., and a closer to average one for the Eastern U.S., according to the May seasonal forecasts from The Weather Company’s WSI branch, and Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI). Meteorological summer began on June 1, and the first week of summer has been on the cool side for much of the United States. However, a shift in the jet stream pattern is coming late this week and into early next week, which will bring hot conditions to much of the eastern half of the U.S. WSI anticipates the possibility of a weak El Nino late summer, perhaps with enough influence on the tropical atmosphere to limit the magnitude of the heat across the northern Plains, Great Lakes, and Eastern U.S. Similarly, in an outlook issued in mid-May, a model-based outlook from IRI and NOAA gave slightly-better-than-even odds of El Niño developing. However, the offiical NOAA/IRI forecast from early May has lower odds, between 40% and 50%. If El Niño does not develop, the odds of stronger and more widespread U.S. heat this summer will rise."
"NOAA is predicting increased odds of a hot summer not only for the Western U.S., but also for the South and Northeast. WSI also predicts a hot summer for the Southeast during July and August. So, what does this mean for air pollution levels this summer?"
I don't understand how anybody could be opposed to efficiency standards on a fans. It might require manufacturers to re-tool their plants, and lead to a slight cost increase at first -- but because ceiling fans often last decades or even longer and are small part of a home purchase -- the savings will be far greater then any marginal up cost front.
"The 1948 Donora smog was a historic air inversion that resulted in a wall of smog that killed 20 people and sickened 7,000 more in Donora, Pennsylvania, a mill town on the Monongahela River, 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Pittsburgh."
"Sixty years later, the incident was described by The New York Times as "one of the worst air pollution disasters in the nation's history". Even 10 years after the incident, mortality rates in Donora were significantly higher than those in other communities nearby."
"The incident was little spoken of in Donora until a historical marker was placed in the town in 1998, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the incident. The 60th anniversary, in 2008, was commemorated with memorials for the families of the victims and other educational programs. The Donora Smog Museum was opened on October 20, 2008, located in an old storefront at 595 McKean Avenue near Sixth Street, with the slogan "Clean Air Started Here". Fewer than 6,000 people still live in Donora."