NYC's Hellish Summer

The New York Times is comparing New York City to Death Valley as temperatures across the Northeast continue to top 100 degrees. And if that wasn't enough...

Because of a fire on Wednesday that forced the closing of one of the city’s biggest sewage treatment plants, the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Harlem, millions of gallons of untreated sewage were discharged from dozens of pipes into the Hudson and Harlem Rivers.

More than 100 workers labored to fix damaged engines in the treatment plant, working in 20-minute shifts because of the broiling heat. Among other things, they borrowed pumps from Ohio to replace those ruined by the fire. By Friday night, untreated sewage was no longer being emptied into the rivers.

[...]

Would-be kayakers gazed out at the water. Swimmers, unaware of the warnings, pulled their children from the surf when informed and rinsed them off. At Pier 66 in Chelsea, the students of Hudson River Community Sailing were grounded. “It’s definitely inconvenient,” said Andrew Schmidt, 28, an instructor.

It almost makes Miami's 90 degrees with 90% humidity look downright balmy.

A slideshow of New Yawkers sweating it out is here.

And, oh yeah, Al Gore is fat!

-photo via NYT


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