The hurricane which became tropical storm Irene ended up doing more damage with its precipitation than it did with its winds. In parts of the East Coast, August was already the rainiest month on record prior to the storm. So the waterways were swelled and more prone to flooding. Apparently Vermont got some of the worst of it, with much of the state flooded. And the storm knocked out power to millions of residents as well. The death toll is at least at 24, and that could rise.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered the city’s first hurricane evacuations in history in advance of Hurricane Irene, expected to hit the area over the weekend.

As you can see from the illustration where I have superimposed the location of the Macondo Well (link is pdf; 28.4 deg. North, 88.2 deg. West ) on the latest (2 am Eastern, July 23) wind speed probability map from the National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Bonnie is on a course that is expected to take it directly over the blown out well.

Who should be speaking out strongly on Global Warming’s impacts? On the relationship of Global Warming to mounting storm and other threats to the nation? Who should lead the discussion about how federal flood policy has increased vulnerability to storms? Who should undertake the challenge of communicating how storms (worsened by Global Warming’s impact) threaten offshore energy infrastructure? If you answered “environmentalists”, Fred Krupp of Environmental Defense would say that you’re wrong. Guess what Fred … you’re wrong. And recklessly so.