Volcanic Eruption in New Zealand

On November 21st Mount Tongariro, the volcano that neighbors Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings erupted again for the first time since 1897, according to an article on National Geographic. The article said the volcano shot ash into the air for over 5 minutes and went 2.5 miles up. 

Some flights have been canceled from this eruption and more are planned to be canceled. The last huge eruption in New Zealand caused lots of air traffic issues. The potential problem with this eruption is there is a strong chance for a second eruption to occur in a few weeks. 

In an article on The New Zealand Herald didn't suggest that any people were injured or in danger from a second eruption but air travel will be effected if there isn't a secondary eruption. 

The government said to check with them before going hiking on the mountain and to keep a look out for observatories but that is the only preparation that citizens can do. 



http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10849136
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/11/121121-mount-doom-volcano-new-zealand-science-eruption/?source=hp_dl1_news_mount_tongariro201320121127

Mt. St. Helens 3D

Boring Mt. St. Helens map

Total Volume Loss

Mt. St. Helens before/after

BEFORE

AFTER

President Obama's win

President Barack Obama won the presidential election for his second term in office. A reason why I chose to vote for him is because of his stance on environmental issues.
From the White House website:

 “We can’t have an energy strategy for the last century that traps us in the past. We need an energy strategy for the future – an all-of-the-above strategy for the 21st century that develops every source of American-made energy.” - President Barack Obama, March 15, 2012

Personally, how he plans to bring out country forward with energy is the most important environmental issue for me.  I hope that in this next term, the dependence on petroleum and coal will be greatly reduced.  This are extremely high hopes but our days left are numbered (that link is more for show rather than information. I didn't confirm the source). 

We can prevent our environment from turning into a disaster but that is up to us and up to our government to make it a priority. 

Hurricane Sandy

The title of this article is "Climate Change And Hurricane Sandy: How Global Warming Might Have Made The Superstorm Worse." I'm not going to even pretend to me a meteorologist or an expert on global change but that is a ridiculous article if you ask me.  Has it really not been commonly accepted STILL that the climate is changing? 
According to the Environment Protection Agency, "the evidence is clear." Taken directly from their website, "Many places have seen changes in rainfall, resulting in more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves." I am a journalist so I have been staying up-to-date on Hurricane Sandy and I surprisingly haven't seen all that many articles about how global change had an effect in this superstorm.  
Best quote from the article though: "If this were a criminal case, detectives would be treating global warming as a likely accomplice in the crime." 

Hurricane Sandy

After the first presidential debate, it was no secret that President Obama messed up.  You could almost Governor Romney was finally in the battle after the first debate.  I write this as the votes are being counted so we don't know who our President will be but many people agree the Hurricane Sandy, as devastating as it was, saved Obama's chances. 

They way he dealt with the disaster showed him as a president and showed that he can lead.  This restored a lot of faith in him as a leader which in turn inspired lots of undecided voters which way they should cast their vote. 

As we discussed in class, this disaster may have saved his presidency. 

Hurricane Sandy

On Nov. 4th, the New York Marathon was canceled because of Hurricane Sandy. This was a huge upset because people from around the world flew to New York for the marathon. 

I completely agree with the Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to cancel the event. In the article on The Independent, it stated that people throughout the city were still without power and it just comes down to what matters the most — the event or the people of New York City. 

On Humans of New York (a blog and Facebook page devoted to capturing the humans of New York City) there were multiple photos showing marathon runners staying in town to help people with clean up and volunteering.

It relates to what we talk about in class that best and most efficient way to keep hazards from turning into disasters is community preparedness. Obviously, Sandy was a disaster but because of the community working together.  Also, we all know celebrities love to prove how great of people that they are so their involvement didn't hurt the cause either.