While the Northeast is being buried under a blizzard, the Great Plains has its own storms to deal with. Dust storms, that is. Because of the ongoing drought in the Great Plains, crops are being ruined and dust storms are blowing. Down the road, this means higher food prices for all of us, because we’re in this together.

But there are folks beginning to take steps in the right direction. Anyone want to follow where they are leading?

Hurricane Sandy has everyone’s attention, especially along the east coast, which isn’t surprising given the satellite imagery and computer models that put it crashing into the Atlantic coast between Maryland and Massachusetts. But back while things were quiet on the hurricane front — last February — people were thinking about them, like NOAA director Jane Lubchenco and Paul “Austerity Rocks!” Ryan.

But that was last spring, when the seas were calm. Today, Paul Ryan probably doesn’t want anything to think about what he proposed for the NOAA budget.