The Carbon Rains of October

PRESENTED BY KIPNUK AND KWIGILLINGOK

The fossil-fueled Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La., no relation) is keeping his caucus at home and the House of Representatives closed, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats over funding the federal government. Even Republicans are crying alarm over the supine GOP legislators, who are letting the Trump regime seize Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse.

So there isn’t much news coming out from Capitol Hill these days. Fear not, loyal Hill Heat readers, we’ve still got content! The deadly consequences of poisoning the world’s weather through the dumping of a trillion tons of fossil-fuel pollution are providing plenty of headlines.

A massive fossil-fueled heat wave is hitting the Pacific Ocean from Kamchatka to California, and Gulf of Mexico waters remain record hot. The overheated oceans are feeding monster storms, from Alaskan typhoons to carbon-juiced Nor’easters.

One person is dead and two are missing in western Alaska after the remnants of the fossil-fueled Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds and ravaging storm surges and floodwaters over the weekend that swept homes away in the villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. First responders conducted dozens of rescues. Wind speeds reached over 100 mph in some parts of the region, with Kusilvak seeing speeds at 107 mph.

A fossil-fueled storm began rolling through southern California on Monday night, drenching the Los Angeles region with heavy rain and prompting evacuation warnings and flash flood watches.

At least 64 people have died in Mexico after heavy fossil-fueled rains and flooding hit five states last week, and another 65 people are still missing. The floods sent overflowing rivers through entire villages, triggered landslides and swept away roads and bridges.

Intense rains pummeled parts of Arizona on Monday, causing severe flooding. Heavy rain drenched much of the state, inundating parking lots and usually dry washes as well as leaving residential areas looking like rivers. Flash floods hit Arizona, washing away roads and flooding buildings. The Phoenix area got two months' worth of rainfall in less than 48 hours from the storms. In its wake, thousands of residents found themselves without power, grappling with the storm's immediate and disruptive impact.

Rivers continued to flood communities in southern Colorado on Tuesday, fueled by excess runoff from overnight rain and surpassing weekend flood levels. Hundreds of La Plata County residents were forced to evacuate their homes Saturday after a storm dropped 4 inches of rain in 48 hours, causing creeks to swell and flood communities north of Vallecito Reservoir.

A days-long powerful, deadly storm was slamming the U.S. East Coast with heavy rains, coastal flooding and gusty winds into early Tuesday. From Manasquan in Monmouth County to Brigantine in Atlantic County, many towns were inundated with flood waters during the afternoon high tide. At least three deaths have been reported over the last several days as rain and wind impact the Northeast.

These torrential storms are doing little to mitigate the long-term drought gripping most of the nation. Because of the relentless heat and decline in regular precipitation, leaf-peeping season is now “short and less colorful,” ski season is disappearing, wildfire season is growing without an end in sight, corn is cannibalized, it’s slim pickings at apple orchards, pumpkin patches are parched, Maine’s blueberry harvests have collapsed, and even Hawaii is dangerously dry.

One more thing: climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf checks in on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), the oceanic flow which includes the Gulf Stream and regulates Europe’s climate. Rahmstorf writes that there is “clear evidence that an AMOC weakening is underway.” “This is not an issue where we can afford to wait until we are certain,” Rahmstorf warns, “or pretend it’s just an academic discussion without major consequences.”

Meanwhile, the fascistic Trump regime killed the nation’s largest solar project, illegally fired clean-energy staffers at the Department of Energy and EPA’s recycling division, and blamed Biden for its failed coal lease sale. Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project detail how Trump has turned the federal government into a polluter playground.

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