Archive: Environment
Local Students Do Their Share for Cleaner Air
Wx and the City * Full Forecast Through the Fourth * This past spring, students throughout the D.C.-Baltimore area were asked to create posters that addressed "The ABCs of Air Quality: The Air, the Bay and Climate Change." The contest...
By Ann Posegate | July 1, 2009; 10:45 AM ET | Comments (1)
Green Your Routine Mid-Atlantic Style
* Flash Flood Watch From Noon to 8 p.m. | Full Forecast * * Car vs. Tornado: What Should You Do? | Obama's Hurricane Week * By Pamela Szatanek, Guest Contributor You don't have to drive a hybrid or become...
By Capital Weather Gang | May 29, 2009; 10:45 AM ET | Comments (5)
Congress Ponders National Climate Service
A significant shakeup may soon take place within the federal government's weather and climate programs, as the House Science and Technology Committee is scheduled to consider legislation on June 3 that would establish a "National Climate Service" within the National...
By Andrew Freedman | May 26, 2009; 11:50 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Scoop on D.C.'s New Wet Weather Fee
Wx and the City * Full Forecast | NatCast | UnitedCast | DHS Targets Hurricanes * Examples of impervious surface areas. Courtesy WASA. Click image to enlarge. If you own property in the District, you may be wondering what that...
By Ann Posegate | May 20, 2009; 10:45 AM ET | Comments (3)
NASA Celebrates Ten Years of Stunning Images
* A Wet Start to Week: Full Forecast | NatCast * Extratropical Cyclones near Iceland posted by NASA on January 2, 2007. Voted by Earth Observatory readers as a "top 10" image. Last week marked the 10th anniversary of NASA's...
By Andrew Freedman | May 4, 2009; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (4)
Greenpeace Protest Ties Up Traffic; Not So Green
* Full Forecast: Heat to Retreat | Heat Wave by the Numbers * By climbing a 140-foot crane and unfurling a large banner around sunrise yesterday, seven Greenpeace protesters made their "Stop Global Warming" message heard loud and clear to...
By Dan Stillman | April 28, 2009; 12:30 PM ET | Comments (13)
No Separating Weather From the Environment
* Full Forecast | NatCast | UnitedCast | Changes in Hurricane Scale * * Live Chat on Climate Change w/ CWG's Andrew Freedman (11 AM) * Weather and the environment are inextricably connected, yet often seen as separate. Weather is...
By Ann Posegate | April 22, 2009; 10:45 AM ET | Comments (7)
Warming Changes Where Birds Wait Out Winter
Wx and the City * Poll: Warm Weather Affecting You? | Windy Tomorrow: Full Forecast * The American Robin now waits out winter over 200 miles further north than where it did 40 years ago. Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish...
By Ann Posegate | February 11, 2009; 11:05 AM ET | Comments (3)
2008 Was Warm, But Coolest Since 2001
* Warming Up? Full Forecast | Inauguration: Staying Warm Wasn't Easy * In light of the recent record-breaking cold snap that has gripped much of North America and Europe, it seems more appropriate to write about an impending ice age...
By Andrew Freedman | January 21, 2009; 10:45 AM ET | Comments (30)
Freedman: Dirty Skies -- the ABCs of "ABCs"
*** Coming Wednesday: CWG's Winter Outlook | Full Forecast *** Satellite image of smog over Beijing, China in March, 2006. Courtesy NASA (click here for more on this image). "Atmospheric Brown Clouds" don't sound like a lovely weather phenomenon. After...
By Andrew Freedman | November 17, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (16)
Update on D.C.'s Stormwater Management
Wx and the City Yesterday, the Potomac Conservancy released a report (PDF) on the health of the Potomac River, in which it gave the national river a whopping D+ rating. The main culprit to this near-failing grade? Stormwater runoff. In...
By Ann Posegate | November 12, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Freedman: Climate News from the Arctic to Texas
This was a busy week in climate-related news, so let's get right to it, shall we? First up was the finding that the Arctic summer melt season of 2008 has ended without breaking a new sea ice loss record. Instead,...
By Andrew Freedman | September 22, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (19)
Wind Turbines and More at U.S. Botanic Garden
Wx and the City A vertical axis wind turbine that can power one-third of the annual electricity for a family of four. Courtesy U.S. Botanic Garden If you haven't had the chance yet, there's still time to check out some...
By Ann Posegate | September 17, 2008; 12:45 PM ET | Comments (3)
Stormwater and Sewage: The Fate of D.C. Rainfall
Wx and the City Pop Quiz: What is the minimum amount of rainfall required for sewage and stormwater to overflow into the District's waterways? Where D.C. rain drains: a Combined Sewer Overflow outfall. By Max Nepstad. a) 3.0 inches b)...
By Ann Posegate | September 11, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
Freedman: Hot Weather, Heated Political Rhetoric
With high gas prices this summer, a bitter political debate erupted regarding drilling for oil and gas in offshore areas in order to increase the supply of gasoline and lower prices at the pump. Since climate change is inextricably tied...
By Andrew Freedman | August 22, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (20)
Freedman: Hot Summers in our Future
A new study shows that in future summers, many parts of the world may experience unusually hot weather that more closely resembles conditions found today in places like Death Valley, California and the Sahara Desert in Africa. The study, published...
By Andrew Freedman | August 18, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (28)
Freedman: In-flight Magazines and Polar Bears
Ah yes, the dog days of summer, when even the CNN news crawl seems to slow to an actual crawl. This is the time of year when it's fun to pick out a few stories that might otherwise sail past...
By Andrew Freedman | August 11, 2008; 10:39 AM ET | Comments (7)
Sun Paradox: Getting Your Daily Dose of D
Wx and the City By Ann Posegate, Guest Contributor In a work-a-holic city of idealists and intellects (oh, and then there are the politicians) - it's tough to feel justified in taking a short break to head outside during the...
By Capital Weather Gang | June 18, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Arlington: Meet the EnviroCAB
New on the streets of Arlington, enviroCAB claims to be "the world's first carbon-negative taxi fleet." Credit: EnviroCAB Walking the streets of Rosslyn last week, I couldn't help but notice a curious-looking vehicle amongst the stop-and-go of Wilson Boulevard --...
By Dan Stillman | March 26, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (14)
School Colors: Turning Green
DC's Sidwell Friends School was featured this week on The Weather Channel's Forecast Earth program for being the first LEED Platinum certified K-12 school building in the world. Although there are now three more such schools, Sidwell's Middle School is...
By Steve Scolnik | March 1, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
