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Nov. 25 to Dec. 1
Record-Breaking Storm Season
In the spring, NOAA and other hurricane season predictors each called for an above-normal storm season. A normal hurricane season includes 14 named storms; this season there were 18. The average season expects seven hurricanes in the Atlantic basin, but 2024 saw 11 such storms. In that normal season as described by the national hurricane center three of the expected seven hurricanes would be Category 3 or higher. In 2024, five were.
Among those five was the earliest Category 5 storm on record, Beryl in June. Also included in the mix was the strongest late season storm on record, Milton. To round out the major events of this record-breaking storm season, Helene caused more deaths, estimated at 226, than any Atlantic basin storm since Katrina in 2005.
Estimates of insured losses, including those impacting the National Flood Insurance Program, are staggering, with actual numbers still being tabulated. Estimates of insurance losses from Beryl alone back in June are at more than $2.5 billion. Hurricanes Milton and Helene are expected to cost insurers between $36 and $55 billion, according to Moddy’s RMS. When the numbers are final, the bill to insurers will be large, and that does not count the damage that was outside the umbrella of insurance coverage.
Five storms made U. S. landfall in 2024 – Debby, Beryl, Francine, Helene and Milton. Luckily Cape May County did not feel the direct brunt of any of them.
Safety of Grocery Store Food
Just as the nation was preparing to sit down for the annual Thanksgiving feast, Gallup released a poll showing a decline in confidence that food bought at the grocery store is safe. Most of the population still is very or at least somewhat confident in the safety of grocery store food, but the number is declining and is especially notable with certain subpopulations.
Gallup says that 72% of the population has some level of confidence in the safety of grocery store food, but that is down from 82% in 2019. Among the groups that bring down the number are women ages 18 to 49, people of color, and adults with children under age 18, all of whom have confidence levels in the low 60% range.
Asked how much confidence they have in the federal government to ensure safety in the food supply, the percentage of adults who feel a great amount or at least a fair amount of confidence has dropped in 20 years from nearly 90% to 57%. One of the largest drops in confidence in the federal government’s role is seen among parents of young children, where the drop since 2019 has been from 67% down to 49%.
The Food and Drug Administration issued 19 food recalls in June 2024. For many of those surveyed, that was less proof of federal involvement in ensuring food safety and more proof that the food supply chain has problems.
Confidence in the food available at most grocery stores has also declined. Both the food industry and the government will face challenges in convincing many Americans that the food is safe, especially as recalls rise.
In all of 2019 there were 330 food-related recalls. In just the first six months of 2024 that number climbed to 578.
Targeting Methane From Organic Waste
The COP29 climate conference ended on Nov. 24. One outcome of the gathering was an increase in multinational commitments to reduce the amount of methane emissions by 30% below the 2020 level by 2030. A U.S. Department of State release calls it the “great Methane Pledge” uniting 159 participating countries. The original pledge dates to 2021.
Seven of the pledge countries, including the United States, are taking new steps to reduce methane emissions from organic waste. Washington promised to issue a new rule as part of its update to the Clean Air Act that will set new standards for municipal solid waste landfills. How much this will drive up costs for towns taking trash to the landfills is anybody’s guess.
The Biden administration’s Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan in 2021 had action items for the oil and gas sector, the waste sector and the agriculture sector.
The Climate Policy Institute reports that government and industry investment in waste sector methane abatement has been significantly short of what is needed to hit 2030 targets.
The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives is urging countries to invest more in direct management of organic waste, including better separate collection systems for organic waste.
One report from the UN Environmental Program predicts that municipal solid waste will grow from 2.1 billion metric tons in 2023 to 3.8 billion by 2050.
Negotiations at COP29 resulted in an agreement that would require countries to develop organic waste initiatives as part of their nationally determined contributions updates due in 2025. This all stems from the 2015 Paris Agreement that the United States was part of, withdrew from, and then returned to.
Happenings
*After delays, the first phase of the Gold Star Families Gateway being constructed in North Wildwood is nearly complete, except for a couple light fixtures.
*Hereford Inlet sand can again be used for beach replenishment on Seven Mile Island.
*The Cape May City Council has put off a vote on an ordinance that limits the amount of curbside recycling materials that businesses and residents can put out after the measure drew criticism at a public hearing.
*A wind-fueled fire that prompted two alarms resulted in major damage to a West Andrews Avenue home in Wildwood on Friday, Nov. 22.
*Avalon is preparing an ordinance change that would have the borough include requirements of a CAFRA permit as part of the monitoring for a municipal zoning permit.
*With the official results of the 2024 general election now posted on the Cape May County Votes website, the outcome of the close race for the final seat on the Middle Township school board is clear: Current board President Stephanie Thomas won reelection, beating out fellow incumbent Kathleen Orlando by 10 votes. Thomas garnered 2,732 votes to Orlando’s 2,722.
*A woman who was seriously injured and hospitalized after a suspected drunk driver hit the rear of the vehicle she was riding in had been rear-ended by an inattentive driver the day before, sending her to the hospital for hours.
*A teenager from Jackson was killed when his dirt bike collided with an SUV in Seaville on Saturday, Nov. 23.
*Hotelier/developer Eustace Mita explained his plans for a luxury hotel on the Gillian’s Wonderland Pier site in Ocean City to an overflow audience at the Ocean City Free Public Library on Monday, Nov. 25.
*An Ocean City musician and his girlfriend were the victims of a complex technology scam that caused them to panic and eventually liquidate nearly $765,000 worth of assets into untraceable forms of currency and give it to criminals.
*In response to a suggestion by County Commissioner Will Morey to increase transparency in government, the other members of the Board of County Commissioners in attendance said they did not see a need to take further steps toward openness.
*Having cooked for staff, cadets and others stationed at the Coast Guard base for seven years now, chef/teacher Rob Ohlsen, of Ocean City, has continued a tradition started by Coast Guard Auxiliary Association Flotilla 82 member John Burns.
*Avalon has received a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation $1 million grant to support the creation of a living shoreline at its Bay Park Marina.
*The Woodbine Elementary School has unveiled a mural aimed at promoting a “Pathway to Peace” at the school and in the community.
*Stone Harbor Police Chief Thomas Schutta will retire after 30 years with the department on Feb. 1, after he came to terms with the borough on a separation accord and agreement not to sue one another.
Spout Off of the Week
It’s time for the county commissioners to step up your game. Commissioner Morey is spot on. It’s 2025, the standards for public service and public participation have evolved. We need to shine more light on county proceedings and decisions. Get on the bus, or get run over by the bus!!!
Wildwood Crest
