Constant rainfall in recent weeks across Texas and Oklahoma resulting in extreme flooding is a result of global warming which is affecting the jet stream, according to meteorologists. “The waterlogged landscape is partly to blame for the weather-related destruction in Central Texas, where fierce storms and tornadoes have dumped record amounts of rain, swelling rivers and covering roads.

At least seven people were killed in Texas and Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend, and a dozen or more were still missing by Tuesday afternoon. The Blanco River crested above 40 feet at one point during the storm — more than triple its normal flood height. Emergency crews in boats and helicopters have rescued residents near Austin and Houston, and thousands of Texans remain displaced after their homes were damaged or destroyed.” [International Business Times]

The EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan rule could cut CO2 emissions to the lowest level since the 1980s, according to EIA analysis. “In June 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. EIA’s newly released analysis of the proposed rule shows power sector CO2 emissions falling to about 1,500 million metric tons per year by 2025, a level not seen since the early 1980s, in the Base Policy case.” [EIA]

Duke Energy has revealed plans to build an energy storage system in partnership with LG Chem and Greensmith at its retired W.C. Beckjord coal-fired power plant in New Richmond, Ohio.”Duke Energy, the nation’s largest electric utility, currently owns 15 percent of the grid connected, battery-based energy storage capacity in the U.S. according to independent research firm IHS Energy.

The new 2-megawatt storage project will assist in regulating electric grid frequency for PJM Interconnection, the transmission organization that powers much of the eastern U.S., including Ohio.” [Dayton Daily News]

Flooding Photo from Shutterstock.