Short Takes – 2-21-23

Florida's climate exodus has already begun — and it's only going to get worse. BusinessInsider.com article. Pull quote: “The storm [Hurricane Irma] had scared many people off, but it had also destroyed a quarter of the Keys's housing stock, which drove up prices for the homes that survived. In the meantime, the Faasts saw their friends start to leave as well: one moved to Sarasota, another to Orlando, and a third friend, who had been the first-ever mayor of Marathon, talked about moving to central Florida.”

Russia is launching a mission to give stranded space station crew members a ride home. NPR.org article. Pull quote: “The spacecraft will carry roughly 948 pounds of cargo to the space station, including food and equipment for experiments. Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin will then fly home in the MS-23 in several months. They were originally scheduled to leave by late March but NASA said in January that their missions would now last until September.”

Researchers watch and worry as balloons are blasted from the sky. NPR.org article. Pull quote: “In the past, it hasn't been a big deal if a balloon drifts near — they simply notify White Sands, and the balloon bobs by, at an altitude far above airplanes and other flying projectiles that might cause concern. But Guzik worries that fears about spying could change the rules, making it harder for peaceful balloons to fly. He can imagine airports, military bases, and many other facilities trying to restrict balloon overflights, something that can be difficult to do, since balloons tend to blow with the wind.”

Power-Grid Attacks Surge and Are Likely to Continue, Study Finds. WSJ.com article. Pull quote: ““No utility has the ability to prevent this from happening,” she [Duke Power CIO] said. “You can have all the cameras in the world, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be able to deliver reliable power because of that.””