Will Climate Change Driven Superstorms Like Sandy Lead to Fukushima-Like Nuclear Disasters in the U.S?

Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on the east coast and it has the potential to become a superstorm. Will climate change driven superstorms like this bring floods and runoff beyond the capacity of U.S. nuclear energy power plants and result in disasters similar to what happened at Fukushima?

Learn More Here and download GIS shapefiles to create your own maps.

Temperature Rising Fast, Hottest Summer on Record, Arctic Ice disappearing - Reason for Hope?

11 degrees fahrenheit increase by the end of the century, hottest summer on record, west nile virus on the increase, arctic ice disappearing. All extremely dismal and downright scary. It's difficult to imagine the world my granchildren will live in as adults, if they can live in it at all.

In the The Six Stages of Climate Grief. Daphne Wysham says.

"We are surpassing all of scientists' worst-case scenarios by a long shot — we are now on track to an 11-degree Fahrenheit rise by the end of the century, according to the International Energy Agency. We've broken over 4,000 temperature records in the United States just this year, and scientists tell us record droughts, floods, storms, and forest fires all may become 'the new normal.'"

But, Daphne finds hope in working together and "doing the work." She says,

"After years of working through these stages, I've discovered a new sixth stage: doing The Work. This means taking courage from each other as we look this monster in the eye and fight side-by-side in the battle of a lifetime. Systemic change — not just light-bulb change — is what's required now. This must include everything from replacing the GDP as an outdated measure of progress to getting schools to teach climate science and arm the next generation with the facts."

Click here for entire article.

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Time Lapse Video Map of U.S. July 2011 Heatwave Created by NASA

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) created this great time-lapse map video of the U.S. July 2011 heatwave.



View the NASA heatwave maps here

Al GORE'S CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT - SOLVING THE CLIMATE CRISIS

Climate change is not your fault for the car you drive, the lights you turn on, or the food you eat. The climate crisis is our problem. Real solutions, systemic solutions, innovative solutions, can only come when we address it together. That’s what The Climate Reality Project will do. Without doubt. Without delay. And with your help.

The Climate Reality Project is bringing the facts about the climate crisis into the mainstream and engaging the public in conversation about how to solve it. We help citizens around the world discover the truth and take meaningful steps to bring about change.

Founded and chaired by Al Gore, Nobel Laureate and former Vice President of the United States, The Climate Reality Project has more than 5 million members and supporters worldwide. It is guided by one simple truth: The climate crisis is real and we know how to solve it.

Check out the Climate Reality Project Here

Explore Global Warming and Climate Shift Hot Spots Around the Globe

Climate Hot Map lets you explore and investigate global warming and climate change hot spots around the globe. Explore Climate Change Hot Spots Now.

Climate Change Global Warming Shapefiles - Changes in Temperature and Precipitation from 2010 through 2099

IPCC 4th Assessment scenario A2 temperature and precipitation GIS shapefile map layers for the years 2010, 2020, 2030, 2040, 2050, 2060, 2070, 2080, 2090 and 2099. The data points are spaced approximately 4.5 km (2.8 miles) apart. The data covers the lower 48 United States. Each point includes data for each of the 12 months of the year, making comparisons and calculations of increases or decreases between months and decades possible.

About the A2 Scenario

The A2 storyline and scenario family describes a very differentiated and heterogeneous world. The underlying theme is self-reliance and preservation of local identities. Emphasis on economic, social, and cultural interactions between regions is less than in other storylines. Fertility patterns across regions converge very slowly, which results in high population growth. Economic development is uneven, the income gap between now-industrialized and developing parts of the world does not narrow, and per capita economic growth and technological change are more fragmented and slower than in other storylines. Main characteristics A2 scenario include: high population growth, medium GDP growth, high energy use, medium-high land use changes, low resource (mainly oil and gas) availability, slow pace and direction of technological change favoring regional economic development.

In addition to each GIS shapefile map layer, you get base map layers including cities, roads, rivers, states and water bodies.

Download Climate Change GIS Shapefile Map Layers for Temperature and Precipitation Change from 2010 through 2099

Free GIS Sofware for Mapping Climate Change

Maps are a way to visualize changes in the earth and its climate in times to come. At ClimateShift, we have some GIS shapefile maps available. More shapefiles, free software plus free GIS tutorials are available at MapCruzin.com. There are many free GIS applications and more coming all the time, but none so far seem to be as complete and full featured as MapWindow. You can use MapWindow:

• As your main desktop GIS
  
• As an alternative desktop GIS
  
• To distribute data to others
  
• To develop and distribute custom spatial data analyses
  

MapWinGIS ActiveX Control

At the core of the MapWindow application is the MapWinGIS ActiveX control. Using this control, you can program custom mapping functionality directly into your own software.

• Open source component (free distribution)
  
• Complete GIS API for shapefile and grid data
  
• Many built in GIS functions
  

What makes this GIS tool different than the others?

MapWindow is Open Source so you develop your own plug-ins if desired. MapWindow is free to use and redistribute to your clients and other end users.

Unlike other free tools, MapWindow is more than just a data viewer, it is an extensible geographic information system. This means that you can write plug-ins to add additional functionality (models, special viewers, hot-link handlers, data editors, etc.) and pass these along to any number of your clients and end users.

MapWindow includes standard GIS data visualization features as well as DBF attribute table editing, shapefile editing, and grid importing and conversion.

MapWinGIS ActiveX includes a GIS API for shapefile and grid data with many built in GIS functions.

MapWinGIS ActiveX can be redistributed royalty-free. No fee is required, although we happily accept donations to help support this effort.

Download MapWindow Free GIS.

If you are new to GIS, Check out the free Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Shapefile Atlas.