LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman. Winner 2013 Webby Awards for Best Political Website
May 23, 2013

 Choose a size
Text Size

Trending:     chris hedges     economy     elizabeth warren     politics     robert scheer
Most Read

A Call to Action

Bizarre, Apparently Jihadist Slaying in London (Video)

Oklahoma Needs Help, Not Ideology

Hell on Earth for Greeks

Another Memorial Day in This Endless War

Most Comments
Most Emailed

Reports
 * NEW! * Fish Migration Reveals Ocean Warming

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture
 * NEW! * A Call to Action
Act of Congress
Daily Rituals

Digs

Truthdig Bazaar
The Great American Stickup

The Great American Stickup

By Robert Scheer
$10.00

more items

 
Ear to the Ground

Heat Wave Kills 140 Californians

Email this item Email    Print this item Print    Share this item... Share

Posted on Aug 11, 2006

About 140 Californians died last month from a severe heat wave, the most casualties since 1955, before air conditioning was widespread.  Officials were left scrambling to explain the inordinately high number of deaths, unusual for a place where people are used to the summer heat.  Beyond the human toll, much of California?s vast agriculture was destroyed by the unrelenting heat, with temperatures remaining high for weeks, even during the night.

New York Times:

Summers are to the Central Valley of California what winters are to northern Maine; people who live here are used to them, prepare for them, and to some extent are not fazed by them. The valley is the agricultural center of the state, and people here are used to toiling on hot days in fields, knocking around in their gardens and generally going about their business, knowing that the nights will bring relief from the dry heat that sears the day.

But for 13 straight days last month, things went differently. ?This heat wave was marked by three things,? said Eric A. Weiss, a professor of emergency medicine at Stanford University Medical Center and an expert on heat-related illnesses.

?There was the duration, which is always important because of the cumulative effect,? Dr. Weiss went on. ?Two, there were the record temperatures. And three, it did not cool down at night.?

Link

More Below the Ad

Advertisement


New and Improved Comments

If you have trouble leaving a comment, review this help page. Still having problems? Let us know. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our comment policy.

By C Quil, August 11, 2006 at 10:02 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Global warming doesn’t mean that everywhere will get steadily warmer and toastier as time goes on. It means that the weather will become more and more unpredictable. That’s the danger. People will simply not be able to prepare for it anymore. While the Atlantic hurricane season has been relatively quiet this year (so far), the Pacific storm season has been pretty brutal.

When you add vast amounts of energy in the form of trapped heat to a complicated dynamic system like the earth’s environment, no one can predict what exactly will happen, as we are now seeing.

Violent thunderstorms, heavy rains, floods, tornadoes, heat waves, droughts, killer winds - they’ve all happened this year. China has just had the most violent typhoon in over 50 years. There have be prolonged forest and brush fires, mud slides, melting glaciers and permafrost, species decline and extinction, and the wars and slaughter that come with violent climate change in areas of the world who live with very small margins of safety, Darfur being a prime example.

There are none are so blind as those that will not see.

Report this

By Todd, August 11, 2006 at 9:24 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Thank you for changing the headline.  Although I’m not sure exactly why people think a heat wave in AUGUST is so rare.

Report this

By R. A. Earl, August 11, 2006 at 9:04 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

“Beyond the human toll, much of California’s vast agriculture was destroyed by the unrelenting heat…”

Dandy. Now watch the price of FOOD go through the roof along with the ridiculous price of fuel.

So help me I’m going to buy a little acreage, live entirely OFF THE GRID, grow my own, and the rest of the world can rotate on my middle finger!

What a bunch of lunatics!

Report this

By Todd, August 11, 2006 at 8:29 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

What?????  How in the world do you draw the parallel that global warming killed 140 people?!?!?!?!?!!?

The “article” is a complete contradiction.  It states that “people are used to high heat”, so how did the global warming kill?

It also states that people were dying of heat prior to 1955 (before AC), which according to the (il)logic of the post, that means that Global Warming was highly prevelant, and killing, even prior to 1955.

What a crock.

Report this

By Collin, August 11, 2006 at 5:15 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

“surprise heatwave” = “Global Warming”?
Sorry, but your evidence is a little weak on this one.

Collin

http://evangelicalperspective.blogspot.com

Report this
Newsletter

sign up to get updates


 
 
 
 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
© 2013 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved.