WASHINGTON, DC, February 26, 2009 (ENS) – “Gary knows the American Dream. He’s lived it. And that’s why he shares my commitment to do whatever it takes to keep it alive in our time,” President Barack Obama said Wednesday, announcing former Washington Governor Gary Locke as his choice to lead the Commerce Department.

“It is the task of the Department of Commerce to help create conditions in which our workers can prosper, our businesses can thrive, and our economy can grow,” the President said. “That’s what Gary did in Washington state, convincing businesses to set up shop and create the jobs of the 21st century – jobs in science and technology; agriculture and energy – jobs that pay well and can’t be shipped overseas.”

Locke is President Obama’s third choice to fill the position of Commerce Secretary. First, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a Democrat, bowed out because a grand jury is investigating a state contract. Then, after having approached the White House seeking the position, Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire backed out, citing philosophical differences with the President.

Accepting the nomination at the White House, Locke was the first of the nominees to mention the environmental aspect of the job.

“The Department of Commerce plays a critical role in nurturing innovation, expanding global markets, protecting and managing our ocean fisheries, and fostering economic growth,” said Secretary-designate Locke. “The Department of Commerce can and will help create the jobs and the economic vitality our nation needs.”

Gary Locke, left, accepts the nomination as Secretary of Commerce from President Barack Obama, center, as Vice President Joe Biden applauds. February 25, 2009. (Photo by Pete Souza courtesy The White House)

The Department of Commerce includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for fisheries management, the National Weather Service and climate research. 

If confirmed by the Senate, Locke will be the first Chinese-American Secretary of Commerce, and the third Asian American in Obama’s cabinet, joining Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu and Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the most of any administration in U.S. history.

Locke served two terms as governor of Washington from 1997-2005. After leaving office, Locke joined the Seattle office of the international law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, in their China and governmental relations practice groups.

As governor, Locke was one of the first to enact regulations to limit climate change, citing the absence of a Bush administration policy to combat global warming.

In May 2005 Locke signed regulations into law requiring new power plants that burn fossil fuels to offset 20 percent of their carbon dioxide emissions. Utilities can mitigate a new plant’s emissions by investing in projects such as planting trees, which absorb carbon dioxide, or converting transit buses from diesel to cleaner-burning natural gas.

In 2003, the Democratic governors of California, Oregon and Washington, including Locke, agreed to cooperate in reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the West Coast through moves such as buying more hybrid cars for state government fleets, limiting the idling of diesel engines, and encouraging the increased use of renewable energy and energy-efficient appliances.

As governor, Locke was in step with the National Governors Association on a wide range of environmental issues.

Lock sought more state autonomy on brownfields and Superfund cleanups. He said, “Since the law was enacted in 1980, the Superfund program has caused significant amounts of litigation, while cleanup of hazardous waste sites has not been as fast or effective as the statute envisioned. In addition, states have not had the necessary tools or funding from the federal government to adequately clean up state sites.”

He supported application of “Good Samaritan” rules to abandoned mine cleanup, saying, “The Western Governors believe the Clean Water Act should be amended to protect a remediating agency from becoming legally responsible for any continuing discharges from the abandoned mine site after completion of a cleanup project, provided that the remediating agency, or ‘Good Samaritan,’ does not otherwise have liability for that abandoned or inactive mine site and attempts to improve the conditions at the site.

As governor, Locke held that the states should retain primary jurisdiction over water quantity issues, water resource allocation and the determination of beneficial uses.

He backed collaborative, incentive driven, locally-based solutions to water quality restoration, which he said is “essential for economic and environmental sustainability of forestry, agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, recreation and public water supply.”

In 2003, Governor Locke asked the U.S. Navy for an explanation of the use of sonar that may have disrupted whales and caused the death of porpoises north of Seattle.

As governor, Locke also made endangered Chinook salmon preservation a priority.

By 1999, wild salmon had disappeared from about 40 percent of their historic breeding ranges in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. In Washington, the numbers had dwindled so much that salmon were threatened or endangered in nearly three-fourths of the state.

Governor Locke and the Legislature began a series of steps to reverse the trend, renegotiating the U.S.-Canada agreement, establishing conservation goals in rivers shared with Idaho and Oregon, and funding salmon restoration and protection projects.

“In every area of the state, we’ve gotten people together to talk about the future of our salmon, and we’ve backed those discussions with funding and resources to turn the people’s vision into reality,” Locke said in 2004. “Today, every watershed with salmon has at least one citizens’ volunteer group working to restore and enhance habitats on which the fish depend.”

If he is confirmed as Commerce Secretary, Locke will be in an even stronger position to promote salmon restoration and recovery.

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WASHINGTON, DC, February 3, 2009 (ENS) – President Barack Obama today named U.S. Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, a Republican, to fill the slot of Commerce Secretary in his cabinet.

If confirmed by the Senate, Gregg will join Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Defense Secretary Robert Gates for a total of three Republicans in the Obama Cabinet.

The President called his former Senate colleague a “master of reaching across the aisle” and complimented his “strict fiscal discipline.” But Obama mentioned no environmental credentials for his choice, although the Department of Commerce governs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.

From left, Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Judd Gregg, President Barack Obama (Photo courtesy The White House)

NOAA has many environmental functions including the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service; the National Marine Fisheries Service; the National Ocean Service; the National Weather Service; and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

“The Commerce Department has a broad and interesting portfolio,” Senator Gregg said today, “but its primary goal must be to create jobs by promoting industry, promoting economic activity, and promoting excellence in science. And I intend to pursue those avenues aggressively.”

A former congressman from 1980-1988, and a governor of New Hampshire from 1989-1993, Gregg has been serving in the Senate since 1993, and is currently ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee.

In the Senate, Gregg has a record of supporting commercial exploitation of resources, including offshore drilling, over environmental protection, although he has voted for some conservation measures.

The League of Conservation Voters’ Scorecard for the 2008 session of Congress scored Gregg at just nine percent for pro-environmental votes. His total LCV score since 1993 is 44 percent.

Republicans for Environmental Protection, a nonprofit group, issued Gregg an “environmental harm demerit” for sponsoring a Fiscal Year 2007 budget resolution that used the congressional budget process to force oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

On March 16, 2006 the Senate passed the resolution by a 51-49 vote. In the House, pro-conservation Republicans stood with Democrats to ensure that Arctic drilling was not included in the House budget resolution. The two bills were never reconciled in conference, so the Arctic refuge remains protected.

Backpackers in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Photo by Out in Alaska)

REP said drilling in the refuge “would perpetuate America’s dangerous oil dependence and damage the most scenic, wildlife-rich reserve in the circumpolar north.”

He has voted against environmental funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and did not vote to fund programs for conserving public lands and wildlife, oceans, coasts, water and farmland.

On the other hand, REP praised Gregg for helping secure passage of S. 4001, the New England Wilderness Act, which designated as wilderness nearly 35,000 acres of forests, mountains, and streams in New Hampshire and 42,000 acres in Vermont.

REP’s 2007 Congressional Scorecard rated Gregg as fourth best Republican in the Senate for environmental voting.

The University of New Hampshire renamed its Environmental Technology Building Gregg Hall, because Gregg used earmarks to secure $266 million of federal funds for research and development projects for the university.

The Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute, established in 2003, is the center of meteorological and atmospheric research at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire, which offers the only meteorology degree program in the state.

If he is confirmed by the Senate, an urgent issue Gregg will have to address at NOAA is upgrading infrastructure for responding to maritime accidents in the Arctic.

On Thursday, NOAA issued a joint report with the University of New Hampshire warning that more needs to be done to enhance emergency response capacity as Arctic sea ice declines due to climate warming and ship traffic in the region increases.

Scientists study ice patterns high in theArctic (Photo courtesy NOAA)

“The reduction of polar sea ice and the increasing worldwide demand for energy will likely result in a dramatic increase in the number of vessels that travel Arctic waters,” said Nancy Kinner, a UNH professor of civil and environmental engineering who serves as co-director of the Coastal Response Research Center, based at the university.

“As vessel traffic increases, disaster scenarios are going to become more of a reality,” she said.

The report details findings from a panel of experts and decision-makers from Arctic nation governments, industry and indigenous communities convened by the CRRC.

The panel examined five potential emergency response scenarios – a grounded cruise ship whose 2,000 passengers and crew must abandon the vessel; an ice-trapped and damaged ore carrier; an explosion on a fixed drilling rig north of Alaska; a collision between a tanker and fishing vessel that results in a large oil spill; and the grounding of a tug towing a supplies barge in an environmentally sensitive area near the Bering Strait.

“Now is the time to prepare for maritime accidents and potential spills in the Arctic,” said Amy Merten, NOAA co-director of the center. “This report clearly indicates that international cooperation and adequate resources are key to saving lives and protecting this special region.”

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CHICAGO, Illinois, December 4, 2008 (ENS) – President-elect Barack Obama has tapped New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to be his Secretary of Commerce, a position with many natural resources responsibilities.

Richardson will be in charge of rebuilding the U.S. economy on a basis of clean energy and green jobs – two of the essential pillars of Obama’s plan to revitalize America. And as commerce secretary, he will head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, which governs everything from the National Weather Service to fisheries management.

Governor Richardson is serving his second term as governor of New Mexico and previously represented northern New Mexico in Congress for 15 years. In 1997, President Bill Clinton selected Richardson as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. From 1998 to 2001, Richardson served as Clinton’s Secretary of Energy. He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination during the current election cycle but was defeated by Obama.

President-elect Barak Obama, left, announces
Governor Bill Richardson as his choice for
Commerce Secretary. (Photo courtesy
Office of the President-elect)

Announcing Richardson’s nomination in Chicago Wednesday, Obama said, “As a former Secretary of Energy, Bill understands the steps we must take to build a new, clean-energy industry and create the green jobs of the 21st century. Jobs that pay well and won’t be shipped overseas – jobs that will help us end our dependence on foreign oil.”

“And as a former Ambassador to the United Nations, Bill brings both international stature and a deep understanding of today’s global economy,” Obama said. “He understands that the success of today’s business in Detroit or Columbus often depends on whether it can sell products in places like Santiago or Shanghai.”

“And he knows that America’s reputation in the world is critical not just to our security, but to our prosperity – that when the citizens of the world respect America’s leadership, they are more likely to buy America’s products,” said the president-elect.

Richardson said, “There is a vital role for the Department of Commerce in our economic recovery. The unique strengths of the department and its talented public servants make it the natural agency to serve as the programmatic nerve center in America’s struggle to rejuvenate our economy. America will once again be at the forefront of innovation, especially in the new frontier of energy independence and clean energy jobs, and we will restore our position of respect in the world.”

The present Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, issued a supportive statement, saying, “The Department of Commerce is a vast agency with a diverse portfolio that ranges from promoting commerce and economic growth, to exercising stewardship over our oceans and waterways.”

“Richardson has the credibility and expertise to negotiate with our foreign partners and ensure that American businesses and workers have open markets and a fair playing field on which to compete,” said Gutierrez.

Ocean conservationists praised Obama’s choice of Richardson.

Vikki Spruill, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy said, “Bill Richardson is an outstanding choice to lead the Department of Commerce, the department most closely associated with America’s ocean policy.”

“Given the many serious problems currently facing our oceans, we hope and expect Governor Richardson to be a champion for the health of our oceans,” she said.

“Too often NOAA has been as afterthought at the Commerce Department. We believe Governor Richardson can change that. Clearly, he is aware the ocean supplies the air we breathe and the food we eat,” said Spruill. “We trust he will put defending this all-important resource at the front of his agenda, where it belongs.”

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GALVESTON, Texas, November 11, 2008 (ENS) – The Galveston newspaper that did not miss an edition although Hurricane Ike blew its roof away, is compiling a coffee-table book telling the story of the storm and its effects through photos shot by staffers.

The “Galveston County Daily News,” will publish the book as a full-color photographic essay of the storm’s story from beginning to end, including the first stages of the area’s recovery process.

Editor Heber Taylor said the book, to be titled “Ike: Stories of the Storm,” will include an account of the storm, including its formation and path, the destruction it caused and the evacuation and recovery of the people it affected.

Radar image of Hurricane Ike at landfall (Image
courtesy National Weather Service,
Houston/Galveston)

“We want it to record the history of the hurricane for the people of the whole county and for everyone else interested in this area,” Taylor said.

The newspaper published right through the hurricane, which made landfall on Galveston Island on September 13 at 2:10 am local time as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 miles per hour.

Daily News president and publisher Dolph Tillotson said, “It’s fairly rare when newspaper journalists get a chance to do more than write history on the fly. But Ike is such an historic event for the county that we felt we needed to tell its story comprehensively. And we want to tell the story in a format that people can keep and pass down to future generations.”

“Throughout the storm, our staff has shot literally hundreds of pictures telling a remarkable story of disaster and courage, of loss and recovery,” said Tillotson.

“I have on the desk in my office a book published in Galveston shortly after the 1900 storm,” he said. “We believe the book we’re planning should last just as long and mean just as much to the people of our county.”

“I believe that the story of Ike, like the tragedy in 1900, will ultimately be a story of triumph, not defeat,” said Tillotson.

The book will be published this month and will be available before the holiday season. Books can be ordered on galvnews.com.

Hurricane Ike was the third most destructive hurricane ever to hit the United States.

Eighty-two people were killed, and 202 are still missing. Damages from Ike in U.S. coastal areas are estimated at $27 billion, making it the third costliest U.S. hurricane of all time, behind Hurricane Andrew of 1992 and Hurricane Katrina of 2005.

Ike evacuees are still being displaced.

The newspaper today reports that hundreds of Galveston County residents checking out of hotel and motel rooms because the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not extend their hotel vouchers.

With rental property still in short supply and many displaced residents left with nowhere else to go, local social service agencies say many of those people are sleeping on the street tonight.

Most of the island’s social service organizations suffered severe damage during the storm, the newspaper reports. Few organizations have the resources or the facilities to offer daily needs’ assistance or overnight shelter.

FEMA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development signed an Interagency Agreement on September 23, 2008, under which HUD will provide temporary long-term housing rental assistance and case management for households affected by Hurricane Ike.

FEMA has given the names of more than 29,000 eligible families to HUD which will provide temporary housing assistance to them until March 2010. But many people are not eligible for this assistance.

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HOUSTON, Texas, October 2, 2008 (ENS) – The Texas Medical Center in Houston came within inches of being flooded during and after Hurricane Ike, but a long-term collaboration with Rice University calmed fears of the kind of deluge that caused extensive damage during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. An accurate prediction of flood levels at the medical campus allowed a war veteran to have a life-saving operation amidst Ike’s torrential rain and howling winds.

Rice researchers precisely predicted the peak surge of Houston’s Brays Bayou during and immediately after Ike, despite power outages that shut down the university’s computing center at a critical time.

“The Texas Medical Center was very happy about how well the system worked and the fact that we were able to pull this off via a long-distance connection,” said Phil Bedient, a professor of engineering at Rice and an expert on flood warning and storm surges. “They were very concerned, because if the medical center had gone under, it would have been a mess.”

Bedient, who with the Texas Medical Center has set up a real-time flood alert system in the years since Allison, saw that effort pay off during the storm. “We absolutely nailed it,” he said.

Having lost power at his own Houston home, Bedient spent a long night during Ike evaluating radar rainfall data coming by phone from the National Weather Service’s radar through Vieux & Associates Inc. in Oklahoma and calling medical center officials with his predictions.

“Brays was two feet from going over its banks,” he said. “The measured water flow in the bayou was 25,500 cubic feet per second. We had predicted 26,800, and we predicted it to occur at almost exactly the same time.” The bayou, which runs just to the south of the medical center, floods at 29,000 cubic feet per second, he said.

“If we’d gotten another inch or two, the bayou would have gone over,” said Bedient. “And that inch or two could have come hours later.”

As it happened, while Texas Gulf Coast residents were boarding up windows and buying batteries less than 12 hours ahead of Hurricane Ike, doctors at the Texas Medical Center were performing a liver transplant on a 59-year-old man.

“We could not deny a veteran the chance for a potential life-saving procedure because of a little wind and rain,” said David Berger, M.D, a physician at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, which is a part of the Texas Medical Center.

Thomas Franklin, who suffered from end-stage liver disease caused by hepatitis C, received his new liver in a seven-hour surgery on Friday, September 12 as wind and rain buffeted the Texas Medical Center.

Liver transplant patient Thomas Franklin recovers
at the Michal E. DeBakey VA Medical
Center surrounded by Surgical Intensive
Care staff members. (Photo by Deborah
Williams courtesy Texas Medical Center)

Hurricane Ike made landfall at nearby Galveston, Texas at two o’clock on Saturday morning. A few hours later, with power outages across Houston, flooded streets, downed trees and power lines, and rain bands and wind gusts still battering the city, John Goss, M.D., chief of abdominal transplantation at Baylor College of Medicine, which partners with the Veterans Administration in liver transplant efforts, made his way to the hospital to check on his patient.

“I check on all my patients after surgery,” said Goss. “The situation was no different with Mr. Franklin.”

“I won the lottery,” said Franklin. “I’m alive today because of this hospital, because of these wonderful doctors, nurses, and everyone else involved in the transplant program, and most importantly, because of the gift of life that was given to me by an organ donor and their family.”

Now, Bedient and his colleagues at the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disaster Center, or SSPEED, are working to extend the same predictive capabilities they used for the Texas Medical Center to all of Greater Houston.

SSPEED is an organization of Gulf Coast universities, emergency managers and public and private partners formed to address deficiencies in storm prediction, disaster planning and evacuations from New Orleans to Brownsville.

The goal, said Bedient, is to provide authorities with information from a new flood prediction tool while there is still time to save lives and property. If a road is likely to go under or a bridge may be washed over, officials will get the word quickly.

“We love meteorologists, but they always look up, and they don’t look down,” he said. “We’re doing the evaluation down here on the ground, where the meteorology meets the road.”

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AUSTIN, Texas, September 10, 2008 (ENS) – Early this morning, the center of Hurricane Ike was located about 125 miles north-northeast of Cabo San Antonio on the western tip of Cuba. More than one million Cubans evacuated and the storm claimed four lives as 20 inches of rain and 100 mph winds swept across the island. More than 600 people died as Ike blasted across Haiti last week.

Ike currently is moving toward the west-northwest near eight mph and this motion is expected to continue for the next day or so, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Maximum sustained winds are near 85 mph with higher gusts, which makes Ike a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Once the storm reaches the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it is expected to strengthen, and the National Weather Service is forecasting Ike will intensify to a Category 3 hurricane in the central Gulf.

Estimated landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast will be 85 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas on Saturday, September 13 at about 5 am local time.

Forecasters say hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles. The outer bands of the storm brushed Florida last night, flooding low-lying areas of Key West.

In view of the hurricane’s deadly threat, Texas Governor Rick Perry Tuesday ordered the pre-deployment of state resources to prepare for evacuation of coastal areas as the storm tracks toward Texas. Evacuations could begin as early as today.

Hurricane Ike wheels into the Gulf of
Mexico (Image courtesy NOAA)

The governor issued a disaster declaration for 88 counties on Monday, which readies the state to provide assistance to local officials.

“We continue to closely monitor this storm and are preparing accordingly for its potential impact to our communities,” said Governor Perry. “Hurricane Ike is making its way to the Gulf as we speak, and it is imperative that residents pay attention to this storm, heed warnings from their local leaders, and take the steps necessary to protect their families, homes and businesses.”

In anticipation of Ike’s landfall, up to 1,350 buses are available to support potential evacuations, with more than 800 en route today to pre-stage in San Antonio and 150 heading to Bee County.

Up to 7,500 guardsmen are on standby for rapid deployment as needed. Six UH-60 helicopters are stationed in Austin and four in San Antonio, and five C-130 aircraft are on standby in Fort Worth.

Two task forces from the Texas Engineering Extension Service are on standby if search and rescue capabilities are needed.

The Texas Department of Transportation has put up message signs urging residents along the coast to fuel up their vehicles to be ready for possible evacuation orders. The state’s Fuel Team is working to ensure adequate fuel supplies along potential evacuation routes and monitoring demand increases. People who are unable to evacuate themselves can let responders know who and where they are before an emergency or evacuation takes place by calling 2-1-1.

Commercial vehicle enforcement troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety are inspecting buses in San Antonio that may be needed for evacuations.

More than 100 troopers across Texas are pre-staging in Corpus Christi, and the regional DPS Disaster District operations centers have been activated in San Antonio, Corpus Christi and McAllen.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is making plans for air and ground evacuation of hospital patients as needed along the Texas coast from Corpus Christi southward. Five federal medical stations are being set up to receive medical special needs evacuees.

The state’s 2-1-1 information and referral network has answered thousands of calls related to Ike since midnight Monday.

Nursing homes and other licensed facilities in coastal regions are being contacted to make sure their emergency plans are up-to-date. Staff are closely monitoring conditions to ensure the safety of those at the Corpus Christi State School.

The Department of Family and Protective Services is instructing foster parents and other caregivers how to report the whereabouts of children in foster care if they evacuate.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice today took the precaution of moving 12 female dialysis patients from the Carole S. Young Medical Facility Complex in Dickinson to the Estelle Unit in Huntsville. The agency is staging nearly 60 inmate transport buses in the Beeville area should the evacuation of South Texas prison facilities become necessary.

The Texas Department of Agriculture is prepared to distribute food commodities and will coordinate distribution efforts with the Salvation Army and American Red Cross. Plans are underway to protect livestock in the Texas Department of Agriculture’s export pens in the path of Ike.

Public Utility Commission is asking electricity providers and telecommunications companies along the Gulf Coast to begin emergency preparations, such as reviewing emergency operations plans, updating critical care customer lists, checking inventories, and alerting crews.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has requested an extended authorization for the fuel waivers from Hurricane Gustav earlier this month and is prepared to respond to impacts from Hurricane Ike. A strike team capable of handling hazardous materials assembled in Austin today. The TCEQ is working with local agencies preparing to address any environmental impact issues that may result from Ike.

Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is making hurricane housing resources for communities available on the agency’s website http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us. The department will contact community action agencies in the projected path of the storm and advise them that they may be called upon to serve more people.

Texas Animal Health Commission is coordinating with its member agencies and encouraging residents to call 2-1-1 for the latest shelter information for pets and livestock.

The Emergency Management Council and State Operations Center are fully activated. The State Operations Center is closely monitoring Hurricane Ike, and holding twice daily conference calls with federal, state and local officials, private industry partners, volunteer organizations, and the National Weather Service.

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MIAMI, Florida, September 8, 2008 (ENS) – The state of Florida has received an emergency declaration to assist Monroe County which is currently evacuating residents from the Florida Keys in advance of Hurricane Ike, Governor Charlie Crist announced today.

“Florida is facing a dangerous threat from Hurricane Ike,” said Governor Crist. “We remain grateful to the president and our federal partners for this vital assistance to our local and state responders.”

The declaration provides for financial assistance for emergency protective measures that Monroe County and state agencies have taken to ensure the public health and safety and property of Keys residents during this storm.

Sunday’s mandatory resident evacuation order for Hurricane Ike, set to expire at noon today, will not be extended, Keys officials said this morning. A steady stream of cars left the Keys over the weekend, but many people stayed put, suffering from hurricane fatigue after three previous storms in the past month – Fay, Gustav, and Hanna.

Monroe, Florida residents arrive at a
Red Cross shelter in preparation for
Hurricane Ike. (Photo by Cynthia
Gutierrez-White courtesy American
Red Cross)

The current track of Hurricane Ike takes the core of the storm well south and west of the Keys and sustained hurricane force winds should miss the island chain, meteorologists at the National Weather Service Key West office said.

“It is still much too soon to know what portions of the Gulf Coast could be impacted by Ike,” according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Still, on Sunday Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal issued a declaration of a state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Ike.

“Hurricane Ike may impact the coastal parishes of Louisiana with hurricane strength winds, wave surges, high tides, torrential rain and tornado activity,” the governor declared.

“The storm may make landfall on the Louisiana coast on or about September 13, 2008, with the expectation that hurricane force winds will reach the Louisiana coast prior to landfall,” he declared.

A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning continues for the entire Florida Keys, from Ocean Reef through the Dry Tortugas.

The outer bands of Ike may begin effecting the Florida Keys this afternoon, meteorologists said, bringing wind and rain as the storm continues to cross southern Cuba.

Ike made its landfall on eastern Holguin province Sunday evening as a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Ike is currently hitting the eastern Cuban province of Camaguey on its way to the central part of the island.

Preliminary information from the Cuban News Agency in Holguin reveals a large number of fallen trees; no deaths have been reported in the areas which Ike has hit. In Camaguey, the storm has damaged tourist facilities in Santa Lucia Beach, and caused sea flooding along the northeastern section of the province.

Forecasters anticipate the Lower Keys and Key West will experience sustained minimal to moderate tropical storm force winds beginning late tonight and for most of Tuesday. In the Upper and Middle Keys winds should be just below tropical storm force.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office officials urged those who have stayed in the Keys to remain inside during the storm. Driving on flooded streets may disable cars and being outside can be very risky with flying debris and downed live power lines, they said.

U.S. Coast Guard officials stress that boaters should remain in port, warning that, “Rough bay waters and extremely dangerous offshore seas can make boating deadly during storms.”

This map shows probabilities of sustained
surface wind speeds of hurricane force
74 mph or greater from Hurricane Ike
over the next five days. (Map courtesy
National Hurricane Center)

Ocean swells from Ike will impact Florida’s east coast today, forecasters say. A high risk of strong and frequent rip currents are expected along the east central and southeast Florida coast with a moderate threat of rip currents along northeast Florida beaches.

Numerous flood warnings are in effect for rivers across the state.

Hurricane Ike moved inland over eastern Cuba last night and early this morning was located over central Cuba, about 365 miles southeast of Key West. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 105 miles per hour, making Ike a Category 2 hurricane.

Meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center say Ike is moving west around 15 mph, and is expected to continue on a west to west-northwest track across Cuba today and tonight before emerging into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday afternoon then moving northwest into the central Gulf waters.

At this time, tropical storm force winds extend outwards to 200 miles from the center and hurricane force winds extend outwards to 60 miles.

A reconnaissance aircraft will provide a better estimate of Ike’s intensity this afternoon, the Hurricane Center said.

In about two days, Ike is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico and travel over warmer waters, where forecasters say some restrengthening is possible.

The Department of Interior’s Mineral Management Service reports 202 production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico evacuated for Hurricane Gustav last week, are still not staffed, nearly one-third of the 717 manned platforms in the Gulf. MMS estimated approximately 80 percent of oil production and approximately 70 percent of natural gas production in the Gulf remains shut-in with safety valves closed below the surface of the ocean.

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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, August 28, 2008 (ENS) – Nearly three years to the day after Hurricane Katrina forced the evacuation of thousands of people from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, residents and emergency managers in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are preparing again to cope with another major storm heading across the Caribbean in their direction.

Late this afternoon local time, the center of Tropical Storm Gustav was located about 15 miles west of Kingston, Jamaica, moving west at about seven miles per hour. The storm made landfall on the eastern tip of Jamaica earlier today and Kingston was swept by winds of 50 mph with higher gusts.

The center of Gustav is expected to cross Jamaica tonight and turn to the west-northwest, moving near or over the Cayman Islands on Friday. Gustav is forecast to rapidly strengthen in the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Friday and Saturday before entering the Gulf of Mexico as a major hurricane.

National Hurricane Center forecasters say Gustav is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of six to 12 inches over Hispaniola, eastern Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Isolated maximum rainfalls of up to 25 inches are possible with life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, warned the NHC. Coastal storm surge flooding of one to three feet above normal tide levels with large and dangerous battering waves can be expected in areas of onshore winds.

Gustav is forecast to increase in size once it reaches the Gulf of Mexico, and these expanding wind fields will produce sea swells that will hit Florida’s Gulf of Mexico beaches by early Sunday. Onshore winds along Florida’s Atlantic beaches are forecast to strengthen this weekend, which will create a moderate to high risk for rip currents.

The National Weather Service predicts that Gustav will strike the Florida Panhandle and the eastern coastal parishes of Louisiana at hurricane force.

Federal and state agencies are better prepared to handle the effects of a hurricane today than they were when Katrina struck on August 29, 2005.

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal issued a state disaster proclamation on Wednesday, and today he requested a pre-landfall disaster declaration from President George W. Bush.

In his letter to the president, Governor Jindal wrote, “I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments, and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety.”

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness has activated its Emergency Operations Center, and FEMA has brought its National Response Coordination Center and its Regional Response Coordination Centers to heightened states of readiness.

Evacuations will begin 72 hours before to the arrival of tropical storm force winds, FEMA officials and the governor said.

The federal Department of Transportation, through the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is working with states, airports, airlines and bus companies to insure any needed evacuations are executed without delay.

The Louisiana National Guard has activated 3,000 troops to perform missions, including the transportation, security, assistance with contra-flow traffic and search and rescue.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development activated their contract today for 700 buses, which began to arrive this morning in preparation for the evacuation.

While Governor Jindal is still serving his first year in office, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is a veteran of the disastrous 2005 hurricane season that brought Katrina on August 29 and Rita a month later. The city is still mired in a slow recovery process.

Nagin, who was a key speaker this morning for the Oregon, Washington and Minnesota delegations at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, is returning to New Orleans immediately to monitor Gustav.

“While it is too early to tell exactly where Gustav will hit and how strong it will be, I’m deeply concerned about the emotional and psychological effect on our citizens,” said Nagin.

New Orleans has made preparations to execute its city evacuation plan, which includes an additional 130 buses.

The Louisiana Department of Corrections will begin relocating prisoners from at risk areas on Friday. The state Department of Agriculture and Forestry is prepared to activate pet shelters and has made arrangements for pet evacuation by truck from New Orleans.

The Department of Homeland Security is advising all Gulf Coast residents to have a three-day supply of water for each person in the family, including pets, along with non-perishable food, a battery-powered radio, extra batteries and a flashlight, needed medications and important documents like property insurance.

“Regardless of its predicted path, it is important for citizens in the Gulf Coast region to listen to what their local officials are advising over the course of the next few days and to take these simple steps to prepare,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “If residents make individual and family preparations, they make it easier for first responders to focus on people who can’t help themselves and need help first.”

FEMA Administrator David Paulison is managing the
federal response to Gustav from New
Orleans. (Photo by Jacinta Quesada
courtesy FEMA)

FEMA’s pre-positioned supplies available for distribution in Gulf Coast states include more than 2.4 million liters of water and more than four million meals.

The agency has prepositioned 478 emergency generators, 140 truckloads of tarps and 267 truckloads of blankets and cots.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services has placed nine disaster medical assistance teams, 11 health strike teams and two incident command teams on alert. Nine federal medical stations, each with a 250-bed capacity, are on alert.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has teams on alert to handle planning, power, roofing, and debris removal, and a water and ice team is ready to provide these necessities as they are needed.

In Austin, Texas, Governor Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration late Tuesday in response to the threat posed by Tropical Storm Gustav to 61 Texas counties.

The governor has called on state resources to prepare for Gustav, which is expected to strengthen as it enters the Gulf of Mexico over the Labor Day weekend. He said all state resources are ready for rapid deployment as necessary, and volunteer organizations are prepared to provide mass care support for residents.

The American Red Cross is moving hundreds of mobile feeding trucks into Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The organization is moving thousands of cots and blankets, tens of thousands of comfort kits and ready-to-eat meals into the coastal states today and Friday. Operational headquarters are being established in Dallas, Baton Rouge, Hattiesburg, and Montgomery.

Federal and state officials are also beginning to coordinate with Southeastern states that could be impacted by Tropical Storm Hanna, which is currently developing off the Atlantic coast.

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WASHINGTON, DC, August 26, 2008 (ENS) – “The big picture is that global warming is putting hurricanes on steroids,” declared climate scientist Dr. Amanda Staudt of the National Wildlife Federation, one of the country’s largest conservation groups.

Windspeeds could increase 13 percent and rainfall could increase 31 percent, Staudt warned at the launch of her new report last week.

“As so many grapple with Tropical Storm Fay’s landfall in the United States, our thoughts and prayers are with those in harm’s way,” she said.

Now weakened from a Tropical Storm to a Tropical Depression, Fay will be pouring down rain in Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, eastern Tennessee, Georgia and parts of the Carolinas most of Tuesday and Wednesday, say National Weather Service forecasters. Fay has been in Florida and the Deep South since August 18.

While weary Florida and Gulf Coast residents endure yet another round of flooding, destruction and power outages, the latest science connecting hurricanes and global warming suggests more of the same is yet to come, said Dr. Staudt.

“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 the strongest storms,” she said, predicting higher wind speeds, more precipitation, and bigger storm surges in the coming decades.

The destructive potential of tropical storms in the North Atlantic has increased by about 50 percent since the 1970s, Staudt states in the report.

Deltona, Florida Fire Department Search and
Rescue members, Randy Siebert, left, and
Tony Jacinto deliver food and medications
to stranded residents of this Volusia
County community. August 24, 2008.
Six days after the first landfall of Tropical
Storm Fay, communities are still stranded.
(Photo by Barry Bahler courtesy FEMA)

And the heights of big waves along the eastern United States have increased by 20 percent during hurricane season since the late 1970s, augmenting the overall risk to coastal communities and wildlife habitats.

Staudt says the increase reflects longer storm lifetimes and greater storm intensities. She correlates it with an increase of 0.9 to 1.3°Fahrenheit in sea surface temperatures in the main development area for storms in the North Atlantic.

The report is entitled “Increasing Vulnerability to Hurricanes: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic Coasts,” reflecting Dr. Straudt’s concern that hurricanes are getting stronger as the oceans warm.

Straudt points out that the increasing coastal population and development in Florida and along the Gulf Coast puts more people as well as wildlife at risk of hurricanes.

For protection, she says, we could use the natural function of coastal wetlands and barrier islands to absorb the destructive force of the stronger hurricanes of the future.

But wetland loss has been a persistent problem along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and will only be made worse by increasing sea level, she notes in the report.

“We must account for increasing storm activity and rising sea level when managing our coasts, especially by restoring and protecting coastal wetlands, lowlands, and barrier islands that provide crucial natural levees,” Dr. Staudt advises.

Wetlands can reduce the size of storm surges by inhibiting the formation and propagation of waves. Scientists have estimated that every mile of wetlands can trim three to nine inches off of a storm surge.

Linking stronger storms with global warming, Staudt says if greenhouse gas emissions continue at today’s levels over the next century, tropical sea surface temperatures could rise another 3° F, or three times the warming increase to date.

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MIAMI, Florida, August 22, 2008 (ENS) – Floridians wish Fay would just go away, but the stubborn tropical storm that never became a hurricane is still hanging around and making life miserable across the northwestern part of the state.

At 5 pm local time, the center of the storm was about 50 miles north of Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast of the Florida Peninsula near the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge.

Tropical Storm Fay is forecast to move on a west-northwest course across North Florida and across the Apalachicola Bay Friday night into Saturday. Fay is expected to sustain tropical storm strength into Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Heavy rains are expected across the I-10 corridor in the Big Bend and Florida Panhandle. Flood Watches have been posted for this region as 6-12 inches of rainfall are forecast. Some rivers throughout North Florida may exceed flood stage over the next few days because of the expected heavy rainfall.

State officials have counted six Florida fatalities they blame on the storm, saying four people died in traffic accidents in the downpour, two others drowned in heavy surf, and one person died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

“Slow moving storms can drop significant amounts of rain so we are urging all Floridians to use caution as they travel this week, “said Florida Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate. “Remember, turn around, don’t drown if approaching a flooded roadway.”

In total, Tropical Storm Fay is responsible for 28 deaths, most in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency for all counties as the storm droppedup to 24 inches of rain along parts of Florida’s low-lying central Atlantic coast this week.

President George W. Bush issued a federal disaster declaration Thursday for all of Florida’s 67 counties, as hundreds of residents evacuated their homes to escape floodwaters that were suddenly filled with alligators and snakes washed out of their habitats in some places.

An alligator photographed walking
through a Central Florida residential
district on Tuesday (Photo by
Scott Auld)

Alligators live in all Florida counties, and state officials say they receive more than 18,000 alligator-related complaints each year. But the floodwaters heighten the risk of an encounter with people because the creatures search for a safe place to wait out the storm.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is warning Floridians not to attempt to interact with wildlife or rescue wild animals during or immediately after the storm. FWC officials said they expect the alligators and snakes to return to their natural habitats once water recedes back to normal levels.

But now heavy rain is falling across northern Florida, southern Georgia and southern Alabama, and flash flood watches remain in effect in those areas.

State health officials are warning people to stay out of standing floodwaters that may be contaminated with lawn-and-garden chemicals and other toxic substances.

Some public water systems are currently on a precautionary boil water notice as a result of Tropical Storm Fay. A list can be found here. http://www.floridadisaster.org/eoc/PressReleases2008/BoilWaterNoticeReport.pdf

On the Atlantic coast, storm conditions from Fay have prevented 25 cargo and tanker ships from entering the ports of Port Canaveral, Jacksonville, Florida, and Brunswick, Georgia, the U.S. Coast Guard says, and cruise ships are being allowed to run normally in Port Canaveral today.

In Mayport, Florida, a local casino cruise ship broke free of its moorings due to high winds and rough seas associated with Fay Friday at six this morning.

The Sun Cruz casino ship broke free with only two people and grounded in the St. Johns River east of the Jacksonville Pilot’s Station.

A small tug that was moored near the Sun Cruz was able to get underway and pull the vessel free. The tug towed Sun Cruz back to its berth. There is no apparent pollution associated with the ship’s grounding, Coast Guard officials said.

The Port of Jacksonville remains closed as Coast Guard crews conduct post-storm assessments of waterside facilities and the waterways to ensure they are safe for vessels to enter.

The federal government is attempting to ease flooding in the vicinity of the Banana River, Florida, by limiting the operation of the Port Canaveral lock system. The Army Corps of Engineers will keep the Port Canaveral locks in the open position to help ease flooding and mariners are warned to avoid the locks if they see a red light due to hazardous currents.

Tropical Storm Fay first made landfall in Key West on Monday before veering into the Gulf of Mexico. It again made landfall near Naples early Tuesday and moved northeast through the Florida peninsula, emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Melbourne on Wednesday leaving extensive flooding in its wake. On Thursday, Fay struck land for the third time near Daytona Beach, moving due west across the Panhandle, crossing Gainesville in central Florida.

Fay now is predicted to continue westward, then linger near Pensacola or Baton Rouge for two days, before heading north-northeast through Tennessee.

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SACRAMENTO, California, July 7, 2008 (ENS) – In view of National Weather Service forecasts of temperatures in the 90s and 100s for much of California during the rest of the week plus concerns over increased levels of smoke and air pollution from hundreds of wildfires, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today directed state agencies to implement Phase II of California’s Contingency Plan for Excessive Heat Emergencies.

“We are coordinating with state and local agencies to help keep people safe during this excessive heat wave,” Governor Schwarzenegger said. “I urge all Californians to take proper health precautions as the temperatures rise into the 90s and 100s across the state – drink plenty of water and check on your neighbors who may be more vulnerable.”

In Phase II, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, OES, and the California Department of Public Health extend their outreach to the public and constituent groups.

Fires burning at Goleta, California
(Photo courtesy Goleta
Water District)

Staff and volunteers work to get the word out to vulnerable populations about heat-related assistance and prevention.

Cooling centers are being opened at state facilities; and contacts are reactivated with licensed care facilities, hospitals and other facilities that serve seniors, persons with disabilities and other special needs populations.

The OES coordinates regular conference calls with the National Weather Service offices throughout the state, to keep county emergency managers and representatives of key state agencies informed.

The State Operations Center is already functioning 24-hours a day to manage the state’s wildfire response, and they will now add key staff from other state agencies to closely monitor the heat wave and to respond to any heat-related issues.

A list of current cooling centers opened by local authorities along with heat illness prevention tips is available on the front page of the OES website at www.oes.ca.gov.

The governor urges all Californians living in or planning to visit areas for which extreme heat advisories and warnings are issued by the National Weather Services to prepare for the hot weather and use caution in their activities.

Californians can reduce their risk of heat-related illness by:

* Creating a cooler environment. Making sure that window air conditioners are installed snugly and ducts are properly insulated, weather stripping doors and sills and placing window reflectors made of cardboard covered with aluminum foil between windows and drapes
* Drinking plenty of water, especially when taking medication
* Wearing lightweight and light-colored clothing
* Avoiding physical activities during periods of peak temperatures
* Checking on neighbors, family members and pets to ensure they are not being harmed by the heat
* Watching for signs of heat-related illness, including fatigue, nausea, headache and vomiting
* Visiting malls, theaters and other public places that are air-conditioned if a person doesn’t have his or her own air conditioning

To reduce the risk of heat illness for those working outdoors, drink plenty of water – at least one quart per hour – take necessary breaks in the shade for at least five minutes when an employee believes they need a preventative recovery period and make sure all employees are trained about heat illness prevention before they begin working.

There will also be excessive smoke in many areas as a result of wildfires, so the governor and public health officials continue to encourage people in those areas to stay inside and limit their physical activity, especially children, the elderly and people with asthma and other respiratory problems.

Fire officials report that 54 uncontained large fires are burning across northern California. One of the most serious is the BTU Lightning Complex of 12 fires 27 miles north of Yuba City in timber, brush and logging slash. Power transmission lines, numerous residences and structures are threatened, and Highway 70 is closed.

Three wildfires are burning in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, threatening the communities of Hawkins Bar, Trinity Village, Big Bar and Big Flat, where evacuations are in effect.

Fire officials say that the fire surrounding the town of Big Sur on the central California coast is exhibiting “extreme” fire behavior. It has charred 80,186 acres, spreading fast in dry, dead fuels from Sudden Oak Death disease in the tan oak. Mandatory evacuations emptied the town last week.

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