Latest news with #mid-Atlantic
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Maryland fires back against EPA claims about its offshore wind permit
An Ørsted wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island. The company also has a lease off the Delmarva coast, but is not nearly as far along in the permit-approval process as US Wind. (Photo courtesy of Ørsted) The Maryland Department of the Environment is defending the permit it issued to a wind farm proposed off the coast of Ocean City, after a challenge from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Thursday letter from Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain also said the state would not be reissuing the permit, as the EPA requested, because the state had not made a mistake that needed correcting. The EPA had contended that when Maryland issued the permit to Baltimore-based company US Wind, it identified the wrong process for citizens to file appeals. Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey, EPA administrator for Region 3, which includes Maryland and other mid-Atlantic states, contended in a July 7 letter that any appeals challenging the air pollution permit issued to US Wind should be filed to the clerk of the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board. But Maryland argues that its permit would need to be appealed through the state courts, which would involve filing a challenge at the appropriate circuit court — in this case in Worcester County. Notably, the due date for a state court challenge has already passed. It was set for July 14 — about a month after MDE issued the permit, according to MDE's website. 'Long-settled procedure dictates that state-issued permits are appealed under State law, not Federal law,' McIlwain's letter says. Trump's EPA flags a problem with offshore wind permit issued by Maryland That letter also cites written decisions issued by the EPA's appeals board, including one that stated that the board 'lacked jurisdiction' to evaluate this type of permit. 'MDE will not re-issue the permit and will continue to follow the proper state procedures to consider appeals,' McIlwain concluded, near the end of the roughly two-page letter. A request for comment from the EPA was not immediately returned Friday. The MDE website for the US Wind project originally referenced both the state appeals procedure and the EPA process, but McIlwain said that information had been 'included at EPA's request. It has been removed, and language has been added clarifying that the Federal appeals process does not apply.' Authority to issue Clean Air Act permits like the one for US Wind is delegated to the state from the EPA — the basis of the federal agency's claim for jurisdiction for appeals. That authority, specifically for permits on the outer continental shelf, was re-certified in early 2024 under the Biden administration. The US Wind project, which is planned about 10 miles from Ocean City's shoreline, is the wind project that is closest to construction in this region. The company, which leased the area in 2014, received a key permit from President Joe Biden's (D) Department of the Interior at the end of 2024. Final buildout of the project is still years away, but it calls for construction of 121 wind turbines, up to four offshore substations and one meteorological tower, according to the state's website. When complete, the project could generate 2,200 megawatts of energy, enough to power up to 718,000 homes, according to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Practically since its inception, the project has faced fierce opposition from local officials in the resort town, who cite concerns that beachgoers would lose a pristine ocean view if the turbines were visible from shore. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Since President Donald Trump (R) took office for his second term, offshore wind projects have landed in his crosshairs. Earlier this week, Trump announced that wind and solar projects would undergo increased scrutiny under his administration. Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' also rescinds tax credits for renewable energy projects that do not begin construction by next July. In April, Trump appointed Blarcom-Lackey to lead the EPA's Mid-Atlantic office. She succeeded Marylander Adam Ortiz, who moved to a deputy secretary role at MDE. Two other companies have offshore leases in the vicinity of Ocean City and the Delaware beaches — Ørsted and Equinor. While Ørsted received its first lease area around the same time as US Wind, Equinor won its auction last year. Neither project have received its federal permits from the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Wall street stays near record levels: Markets stay resilient despite Trump-Powell tension; corporate results mixed
Representative image (AP) Wall Street remained near record high on Thursday following upbeat US economic data and a mixed batch of corporate earnings. The S&P 500 was nearly flat in early trading, holding just below its all-time high from last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 105 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1% after setting a record high on Wednesday. The session followed a volatile Wednesday, when US President Donald Trump said he had discussed the 'concept' of firing federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, though he added it was unlikely. While such a move could push the Fed toward rate cuts, it would also raise concerns about the central bank's independence in managing inflation, according to AP. PepsiCo shares jumped 6.6% after the company posted better-than-expected revenue and profit, maintaining its April forecast despite tariff-driven cost pressures and reduced consumer spending. United Airlines surged 6.4% after beating quarterly profit estimates and reporting a pickup in demand since early July. The airline said it expected fewer economic uncertainties to impact performance for the rest of the year. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Lucid Group soared 25.3% after announcing Uber's plan to deploy over 20,000 of its vehicles in a robotaxi program using autonomous technology from Nuro. The service is set to launch next year in a major US city. Uber, which plans to invest hundreds of millions in both Lucid and Nuro, saw its stock slip 0.1%. Chip stocks also benefited from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's strong earnings report, cited by AP. The company's US-listed shares rose 2.2% after it reported a 61% jump in quarterly net income, driven by robust demand from AI and other tech sectors. On the downside, Abbott shares fell 6.1% despite narrowly beating analyst expectations. The company revised down the upper end of its revenue growth forecast for 2025. Elevance Health tumbled 9.2% after missing profit estimates and lowering its 2025 forecast due to higher medical costs in its affordable care act segment and other issues. Economic reports released Thursday showed resilience in the US economy. Retail sales rose more than expected in June, supported by steady consumer spending and a strong labor market. Jobless claims fell, suggesting limited layoffs, while a separate report showed unexpectedly strong growth in mid-Atlantic manufacturing. These positive signals could support the Federal Reserve's current stance of holding interest rates steady. The central bank has paused rate changes this year after cutting them at the end of 2024. Fed Chair Powell has emphasized the need for more economic data, especially around tariffs and inflation, before making further moves. The two-year Treasury yield, which reflects expectations for Fed policy, ticked up to 3.89% from 3.88% late Wednesday. In contrast, the 10-year yield slipped to 4.44% from 4.46%, showing some easing in long-term rate expectations. Yields had briefly jumped on Wednesday after Trump's comments about Powell, but calmed after he clarified he was unlikely to remove the Fed chair. A less independent Fed could lower short-term rates but risks allowing inflation to rise, a concern for long-term bond investors Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Lightning seems to be striking, and even killing, lots of people this summer. What are the odds you'll get struck in your lifetime — and how can you minimize the risk?
They say lightning never strikes twice. But in recent days it seems to be striking again and again — to deadly effect. On Wednesday, the Norwegian Ski Federation announced that Olympic skier Audun Groenvold, a bronze medalist at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, died the previous evening after lightning struck him on 'a cabin trip.' Groenvold was 49 years old. Exactly one week earlier, a lightning bolt hit another athlete, Simon John Mariani, 28, while he was playing the 15th hole of New Jersey's Ballyowen Golf Course. Mariani 'unexpectedly' died of his injuries on Monday, according to an obituary his family posted online. Around the same time, two Georgia teens, Joey Nelson, 18, and Randall Martin III, 19, were struck and killed while fishing in a local pond. And five people were injured by lightning near Florida's St. Augustine Pier on Saturday afternoon. 'I felt the jolt through my body,' one of the victims, Stephanie Bayliss, told News 4 in Jacksonville. 'It was a horrible pain. Everything went blank. Everything was super loud. My ears hurt, and they were muffled. As soon as the second was over, I had a splitting headache. My wife turned around to me and said, 'I just got hit in the back of the head.' I said, 'I did too.'' Here's everything you need to know to stay safe from lightning this summer. Why are there so many lightning strikes (and deaths) right now? The first cause is seasonal. Lightning can occur at any time of year, but since it's typically associated with thunderstorms — and thunderstorms tend to occur when the air is warm, humid and unstable — the phenomenon is most prevalent during the spring and summer months, especially across the mid-Atlantic and Sun Belt regions of the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida is considered the 'lightning capital' of the country. Of course, people have to be around lightning to get hurt by it, and the risk is highest when they're outside (where about two-thirds of lightning injuries take place). The combination of these two factors — weather patterns and outdoor activity — makes July by far the deadliest month for lightning strikes, according to the CDC, with 147 recorded during that month from 2006 and 2021. June (99 deaths) and August (77 deaths) are a distant second and third, respectively. The other dynamic at play could be climate change. In 2014, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that every time the planet warms by 1°C, the number of annual lightning strikes is expected to increase by 12%. So 'for every two lightning strikes you had at the beginning of the century, we will have three at the end of the century,' one of the researchers explained at the time. Lightning fatalities in developing countries have been rising in recent years, likely as a result. What are the odds of getting struck by lightning in your lifetime? Low, but not zero. In 2019, the National Weather Service added the average number of annual U.S. lightning deaths over the previous decade (29) to the average number of annual lightning injuries (243) and calculated that each individual American has a one in 1.2 million chance of getting struck by lightning in any particular year — and a one in 15,300 chance of getting hit at some point during their life. Among the factors that can indicate an increased risk, according to the CDC: gender (males are four times more likely than females to be struck by lightning); age (the average age of a person struck by lightning is 37 years); time of day (two out of three lightning deaths occur between noon and 6:00 p.m.); recreation (from 2006 through 2021, leisure activities such as fishing, boating, playing sports and relaxing at the beach accounted for almost two-thirds of lightning deaths); and occupation (work-related activities contribute to about 18% of total lightning fatalities, with farmers and ranchers at highest risk). Almost 90% of all lightning-strike victims survive, though, so even if a bolt does hit you, chances are you won't die. What happens to your body if you get struck by lightning? Getting struck by lightning delivers a massive electrical pulse to the body. That can short-circuit the heart and stop it from beating. When people die from lightning, they're actually dying from cardiac arrest. Lightning strike survivors typically experience a variety of short- and even long-term symptoms. Burns can affect skin and sometimes internal tissues — though brief heat exposure (lightning only lasts a fraction of a millisecond) can limit the damage. Eardrums may be ruptured. Cataracts often develop, sometimes as much as a year later. The nervous system can be affected as well, with victims reporting headache, nausea, stomach upset and other post-concussion types of symptoms; mild confusion, memory slowness or mental clouding; even dizziness and loss of balance. Longer term, survivors can have trouble with mental processing; some may experience personality change or depression. How to avoid getting hit by lightning About 40 million lightning strikes reach the ground each year in the U.S. To avoid getting hit, shelter in a substantial building or hard-topped vehicle with the windows rolled up at the first sign of a thunderstorm, and remain there until the storm has passed. Rain shelters, small sheds, balconies and porches are not safe. Don't use rain as your guide; lightning can strike 10 miles ahead of a storm and linger after a downpour has ended. Remain inside for 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder. If you can't get inside, do whatever you can to avoid tall structures (rooftops, scaffolding, utility poles, ladders, trees, large equipment) and conductive materials (metal, utility lines, water, water pipes, plumbing). And even if you can get inside, make sure to avoid metal, wiring and plumbing as well. When lightning strikes a home or building, it often follows the wiring or plumbing to ground. Don't touch anything that's plugged into an outlet or connected to outside doors or windows. Finally, if someone you know is unfortunate enough to get struck by lightning, call 911 immediately, monitor the victim in the meantime and use CPR if necessary. Lightning survivors do not carry an electrical charge, so they are safe to touch.
Mint
6 days ago
- Mint
Volcanic Eruption Begins Again in Iceland, Met Office Says
(Bloomberg) -- A volcanic eruption has resumed again near a damaged fishing town in Iceland. A fissure opened up in the ground at 3:54 a.m. on Wednesday, the Met Office said on its website. Lava is flowing southeast from a fissure of about 700 meters (800 yards) and no infrastructure is threatened this time, the authorities said. Iceland's southwestern corner has experienced repeated lava bursts since awakening from an 800-year dormancy in 2021. This volcanic event is the ninth since December 2023 when eruptions began on the doorstep of a small fishing town, Grindavik, forcing Iceland to relocate most of the townsfolk who make about 1% of the country's population. 'It's lucky because the eruption is in the most remote part of the area,' Armann Hoskuldsson, volcanologist at the University of Iceland, said by phone. 'We are watching the evolution of the eruption.' Fissure eruptions have tended to cause no harm to air travel. One of the most disruptive geological events in Iceland's recent history happened in 2010 when volcano Eyjafjallajokull in the southern part of the country experienced an explosive eruption. That released a plume of ash so vast that it grounded air traffic across Europe for weeks, resulting in the cancellation of 100,000 flights and affecting over 10 million people. Iceland is one of the world's volcanic hot spots due to its position on the mid-Atlantic ridge where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates rift apart. Scientists have warned that a new era of activity has started on the Reykjanes peninsula. The pace of outbursts since 2021 is 'unusual but not unprecedented,' Hoskuldsson said. His base case remains that small-scale eruptions continue also going forward. (Updates with comments from a volcanologist from fourth paragraph.) More stories like this are available on
Newsweek
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Newsweek
Map Shows States at Risk of Flash Floods as People Told Not to Drive
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The National Weather Service (NWS) advised some Americans against traveling on Tuesday amid a risk of flash floods in 16 states. "There are multiple areas where flash flooding is possible today. Any localized flash flooding can have severe impacts," the NWS said in a post on Facebook. "If a Flash Flood Warning is issued for your area, avoid travel if possible, and never drive into flooded roadways. Turn around, don't drown!" Why It Matters Flooding is the second-deadliest weather hazard in the United States, behind extreme heat. The warning about flash floods comes as torrential rain has battered multiple parts of the nation over the past few weeks. Two people were killed in Plainfield, New Jersey, on Monday after flash floods swept their car away, marking the second time this month that people have died during storms in the town. Over the July 4 weekend, Central Texas was inundated with floods that killed more than 100 people. Tropical Storm Chantal moved through parts of the Eastern Seaboard earlier this month, as well. New Mexico, Florida, and numerous other states have recently been affected by dangerous floods amid heavy rainfall. What To Know As of Tuesday afternoon, active flash flood warnings were in effect for parts of southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. The warning will remain in place until 4:15 p.m. ET. Sixteen states are at a slight risk of flash floods on Tuesday, the NWS said. A slight risk means there's at least a 15 percent chance of rainfall exceeding flash flood guidance. A map from the NWS shows the states at a slight risk of flash floods on Tuesday. A map from the NWS shows the states at a slight risk of flash floods on Tuesday. National Weather Service The NWS map shows the risk areas as: Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Northern Wisconsin, Minnesota, far Southeastern North Dakota, Eastern South Dakota, northeastern Nebraska, Southeastern Arizona, Central Texas, Central Florida, far Northeastern Georgia, Northwestern South Carolina, Western North Carolina, Virginia, Eastern West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The heaviest rainfall amounts are expected in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Florida. The latter could see up to 4 inches of rain, according to a rainfall outlook from the NWS Weather Prediction Center. "Severe thunderstorms are expected across the Central Plains accompanied by damaging wind gusts and large hail," an NWS forecast said on Tuesday. "In addition, heavy rainfall may lead to instances of flash flooding from the Plains and mid-Atlantic regions. The heavy rainfall threat continues across Florida and across the northern Gulf as we monitor a tropical disturbance tracking westward." In addition to the flash flood warning in Virginia and North Carolina, widespread flood watches and flood warnings had been issued across the country. What People Are Saying NWS office in Wakefield, Virginia, in a flood warning: "Flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations is occurring. Numerous roads remain closed due to flooding." NWS office in Austin/San Antonio, Texas, in a flood warning: "Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding." What Happens Next Most flood warnings are expected to expire by Tuesday evening. AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva told Newsweek that he is concerned about the potential for flash floods in Louisiana later in the week as heavy rain pummels that region of the U.S.
