Hurricane Irene Exposes Creaky American Infrastructure

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 Hurricane Irene Exposes Creaky American Infrastructure In the winter of 1992, a nor'easter sent a storm surge over the floodwall guarding the southern tip of Manhattan. Seawater quickly overwhelmed major roadways and New York City's subway system, shutting down the entire subway for nearly 10 days. "If Hurricane Irene had hit an hour differently or 10 percent stronger or moved 10 percent slower, it would have caused a repeat of that event," Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with the leading forecasting service Weather Underground, told The Huffington Post. Daryl Hannah Arrested At Pipeline Protest Al Gore: People Should Stand Up To Climate Skeptics The Way We Stood Up To Racists WATCH: Fox Says Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Is Confusing Viewers Yes You Better: Obama Campaign Writer Arrested In Keystone XL Protest WATCH: National Guard Trucks Get Stuck In Hurricane Irene Flood Water BLOG POSTS Donnie Fowler: GOP Presidential Candidates on Clean Energy and Climate Change Are they owned by the oil companies, or are they willing to break from some of the GOP's largest campaign donors? Do they agree with 98 percent of scientists, or are facts mere inconveniences to be pushed aside for ideology and ambition? Joanna Eede: Two Different Approaches to 'Wilderness' The concept of 'wilderness' has long existed in Western culture as a place of pristine natural beauty unpolluted by human life. These policies neglect indigenous tribal peoples for whom such 'wild' places were once merely 'home'. Andy Horowitz: A Natural Disasters History Lesson for Ron Paul Congressman Paul is right that the federal government has grown, and not always in ways that are helpful. He is also right to look to history for a better way. But he needs some better history. Paul Yeager: Atlantic Hurricane Katia to Form This Week Even though the next hurricane will likely be in the distant, non-threatening eastern Atlantic, we need to stay alert. Shifra Mincer: AOL Energy Week in Review An unusual East Coast earthquake and an equally rare vicious north-moving hurricane bound up the U.S. East Coast Monday left many in the energy business wondering if they should begin preparing for a locust infestation.

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