Connecticut Green Living

In a new report on natural disaster risk Connecticut ranks as the third most-appealing state to move to if one wants to stay safe. This report by Texas -based personal injury lawyers DJC Law does not factor for earthquakes. Wildfire data for 2010-2022, tornado data for 2008-2023 and flood data for 2010-2025 (presumably through mid-January) was collected. Rhode Island is the least vulnerable state to natural disasters, having experienced no flooding between 2010 and 2025 the study shows. Connecticut, though, fares very well too, as we have had proportionately few wildfires, floods and tornadoes over the same period. The Ocean State boasts a very low likelihood of natural disasters occurring in the future, at just 0.11%. The state reported no cases of flooding between 2010 and 2025. Over a 16-year period, only seven tornadoes were recorded, resulting in a minimal probability of 0.03% for tornadoes in the coming years. Connecticut , the report states, had only two tornadoes during that ...

I'm a stickler for details. "Why is everyone doing their year roundups several weeks before the end of the year?" I asked my friend Len. "Well, because it's the way they do it, you know, the year's almost over." I can't remember exactly what he said. "But something incredible - good or bad - could still happen in these, let's see, 12 days." "Then write your roundup and add something in if that happens." So here we are. This was a difficult year, though not without its share of excitement and joy. The principal excitement came when I bussed off to D.C. as I have been wanting to do for a couple years, and attended the National Press Club Career Day . We got free profile pictures courtesy of a wonderful photographer by the name of Melissa Lyttle and I met with representatives of the AP, Washington Post and regional publications around the country. My favorite part of the day was probably "Nail the interview: Advice for succ...

There are creeps then there are plant creeps. A plant creep wants to upset the environment, ultimately usurpring economic stability on a region. Lawn Love has come out with a list showing we are ranked fourth for invasive plants. The top five in order are California, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and North Carolina. (Note: our geographical proximity to New York and Massachussetts obviously means greater overlap in areas such as northwestern and southeastern Connecticut .) The breakdown is as follows: No. 4: Connecticut | Overall score: 65.87 Number of Invasive Plant Species ( National Invasive Species Information Center ): 47 | Rank: 10 Number of Invasive Plant Species Reported ( University of Georgia ): 702 | Rank: 18 Percentage of Sunshine: 58% | Rank: 29 Average Monthly Inches of Precipitation : 3.6 | Rank: 17 National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils Membership: 0 (No) | Rank: 1 UConn has put out a helpful list of reported invasive plants. Listed by common nam...

My late mother was fond of saying she must come to terms with having lost most of her classic beauty. Yet even on my last visit with her, at age 78 she was still turning heads. I have enjoyed a fair amount of continuing interest even at 62, but as of last Thursday night that quickly changed. I am generating interest, but of a different kind. I can read the stares. 'Who beat her?' 'What's wrong with this woman?!' Sometimes, I am wearing my mask so people cannot see my broken nose or most of the huge purple bruise from the eye socket down to the nose. I have never enjoyed mask-wearing more than I do now. Sometimes I talk about it. Other times I address questions, such as the boy who asked his mom, "Why is that lady wearing a Band-aid on her nose?" I turned and told him. I have also offered the story when I see The Stare because I want to offset their impression. Other times, I have seen this as an interesting social experiment. Far more interesting than the ...

If you are surviving the "heat dome", that's wonderful, but if you are thriving you must be locked in a meat cooler somewhere. Yesterday , I had to walk several blocks because of the arts festival in downtown New Haven, and became intimately familiar with the 'heat index'. It felt like 104 according to the heat index, which factors in humidity, even though it was in the 90s. There was not an inch of clothing that was not doused in sweat when I arrived at my destination. I then slept a solid 12 hours. Dangerous weather such as we are having is nothing to take lightly. I reported Friday that the CDC documented over 700 annual U.S. deaths between 2004 and 2018. I can only imagine that from 2024 forward, that number will spike considerably. U.S. News & World Report just reported that Phoenix has suffered six heat-related deaths as its temps have soared to 115 in recent days. One hundred fifteen degrees. The only upside is humidity is low (as I write, it is 107...

During 2004–2018, an average of 702 heat-related deaths (415 with heat as the underlying cause and 287 as a contributing cause) occurred in the United States annually, according to the CDC in its "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report". In it the CDC states that natural heat exposure was a "contributing cause of death attributed to certain chronic medical conditions, alcohol poisoning, and drug overdoses." But it is not 2018 anymore, and heat deaths along with extreme heat, are accelerating. (As if on cue, a few hours after I published this the BBC and CNN reported that 1,000 persons have died from the heat on a Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.) At least as importantly, areas with high humidity such as ours - particularly over the past several days - are fraught this time of year. The higher the humidity, the less we are able to sweat and cool ourselves. CDC's health scientist Ambarish Vaidyanathan, of the Climate and Health Program with the National Center for Envi...