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Over the next week, super heavy showers are set to hit the Indian subcontinent, especially in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, South Interior Karnataka, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, and Gujarat, the IMD (<keyword id="19963725" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Meteorological-Department" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Indian Meteorological Department" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Indian Meteorological Department">Indian Meteorological Department</keyword>) has predicted. Yesterday, India's financial capital, Mumbai was hit by a surprise, albeit hefty deluge of rain. Consequently, a yellow alert was issued for Thane, Pune, Palghar and other areas near to Mumbai. Between October 13-16, very heavy rainfalls are also expected in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. It's no secret that incessant rains also bring about significant economic damages. As seen very often in the past, a constant barrage of torrential rains can also quickly create a flood-like situation, which can wipe away houses, vehicles and everything that comes in its way. Per media reports, the average economic impact on India due to <keyword id="19912527" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="floods" source="keywords">floods</keyword> between 2011 and 2021 has been a staggering Rs 25,805 crore. Imagine this-your entire se is flooded. Water has seeped into everything—your walls, furniture, and even the plumbing. Without a <keyword id="22058670" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="home-insurance" source="keywords">home insurance</keyword>, you'll have to spend a hefty amount towards repairs and to get your life and home back on track. <h2>Getting your home insured</h2>So, if you are wondering how to protect your hard earned material but immovable assets like house, the answer is right in front of you- Home Insurance. Says Dilip Baba, Head of Commercial and Speciality Underwriting, Go Digit General Insurance, "People usually spend their entire life savings on purchasing a home. However, people rarely think about how to protect their investment. By investing in the safety of home insurance, you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that your property is covered in case of unforeseen events. With home insurance, you can opt for three types of coverage-structure, content and comprehensive. While structure simply insures the physical, immovable formation of your house (walls, roofs), content coverage goes a step ahead and takes care of damage caused to your movable items like furniture, electronics and other items due to natural calamities, theft and more, up to a certain limit. This can also include any valuable artwork or antiques, or additional installation like solar panels you might have at your home. A comprehensive home insurance brings together both structure and contents in its insurance ambit. Having a home insurance can not just protect you from natural calamities like floods, but also from unforeseen events like theft, fire and more. The annual premium of a home insurance policy can range between Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 depending on the type and extent of coverage taken. Before buying a policy, be sure to clarify whether it offers actual cash value, which considers depreciation, or replacement/reinstatement cost, which covers the full replacement without depreciation deductions. To be on the safe side, you can also choose additional covers like accidental death insurance, or rent coverage, if you lose out on rental income due to damage caused to your property. You can use the carpet area of your house to get a sense of your home insurance requirements. Other covers you can opt for include valuable contents (on agreed value basis under home contents cover), additional living expense cover, tenant liability insurance, among others. Says Amit Bhandari, Chief Technical Officer at Magma HDI General Insurance, "When selecting a policy, it’s crucial to assess the unique risks that your home may face, particularly if you live in an area susceptible to <keyword id="19922196" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="natural-disasters" source="keywords">natural disasters</keyword>. You should tailor your coverage to address these risks while considering premium reduction strategies, such as excluding unnecessary coverages".

Heavy rains to lash across the country between Oct 12-16, here's how you can insure your home from rain's fury

<keyword id="20021374" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sriharikota" source="keywords">Sriharikota</keyword>: <keyword id="19915124" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ISRO" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="ISRO" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="ISRO">ISRO</keyword> on Friday launched its third and final <keyword id="22763595" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="developmental-flight" source="keywords">developmental flight</keyword>, <keyword id="22803030" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Small-Satellite-Launch-Vehicle-D3" source="keywords">Small Satellite Launch Vehicle-D3</keyword>, carrying <keyword id="21767253" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Earth-Observation-Satellite" source="keywords">Earth Observation Satellite</keyword> EOS-08. The rocket lifted off majestically from the first launch pad at the <keyword id="20021373" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Satish-Dhawan-Space-Centre" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Satish Dhawan Space Centre" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Satish Dhawan Space Centre">Satish Dhawan Space Centre</keyword> here, situated about 135 km east of Chennai at a pre-fixed time of 9.17 am. The objectives of the SSLV-D3-EOS-08 mission include designing and developing a microsatellite and creating payload instruments compatible with the microsatellite bus, the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency said. Built on the Microsat/IMS-1 bus, EOS-08 carries three payloads--Electro Optical Infrared Payload (EOIR), Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry payload (GNSS-R) and SiC UV Dosimeter. The EOIR payload is designed to capture images in the Mid-Wave IR (MIR) and Long-Wave IR (LWIR) bands, both during the day and night, for applications such as satellite-based surveillance, disaster monitoring, environmental monitoring, fire detection, volcanic activity observation and industrial and power plant disaster monitoring. The GNSS-R payload demonstrates the capability of using GNSS-R-based remote sensing for applications such as ocean surface wind analysis, soil moisture assessment, cryosphere studies over the Himalayan region, flood detection, and inland waterbody detection. The SiC UV Dosimeter monitors UV irradiance at the viewport of the Crew Module in the Gaganyaan Mission and serves as a high-dose alarm sensor for gamma radiation.

ISRO's final developmental flight lifts off from Sriharikota spaceport

<ul class="summary-list"><li>D1's Dan Sundheim and SurgoCap's Mala Gaonkar spoke about investing in AI a Chicago conference.</li><li>Sundheim said it won't be private companies leading this tech change for once.</li></ul>The best way to invest in the world's hottest trend is not through seed rounds or even fully-fledged private companies, said D1 Capital Partners founder Dan Sundheim, despite<a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/20/investments-in-generative-ai-startups-topped-3-9b-in-q3-2024/#:~:text=In%20Q3%202024%2C%20VCs%20invested,based%20companies%20across%20127%20deals."> billions flooding into artificial intelligence start-ups</a> last quarter alone.Sundheim, whose portfolio has billions invested in both public and private companies, believes the best way to tap into the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startups-rapid-funding-rounds-2024-9">AI frenzy</a> is through public companies. Speaking at Tuesday's Invest for Kids conference in Chicago, he said that AI, unlike other big technological advances, will be felt across sectors so all companies have an interest in putting money toward it.Large public corporations have the most resources to implement AI across their businesses, according to a recap of his comments viewed by Business Insider. In other words, scale is more of an advantage in the AI field than nimbleness.He said companies putting capital and talent behind AI projects are doing so without expecting a short-term return on their investment. The infrastructure required by these projects, he said, means companies are looking at the ROI a decade from now, not a quarter.Sundheim was speaking on a panel with Mala Gaonkar, the former Lone Pine executive who launched SurgoCap Partners at the start of 2023. From her vantage point, AI will impact industries on different timelines, so over the next three to five years, it's crucial to know which areas will feel immediate benefits and which sectors will take time.Gaonkar said medtech— such as diagnostic imaging — should benefit from AI advances earlier than other sectors.Sundheim also said that because of AI infrastructure needs, there will be investment opportunities in companies that supply the equipment to upgrade the electrical grid.Both firms have had strong years investing in public markets.Gaonkar's fund is up more than 25% this year, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lone-pine-spinouts-struggle-except-mala-gaonkar-surgocap-tiger-cubs-2024-10">BI previously reported</a>, as assets have swelled to more than $3 billion. Sundheim's D1, which according to regulatory filings manages roughly $26 billion, is up more than 34% in its public book though its venture investments have been marked down 2.6% so far in 2024, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2dw7rnwdclm7wl4q9tr7k/hedge-funds/d1-capitals-dan-sundheim-makes-changes-after-two-consecutive-knockdowns">a recent report from Institutional Investor</a>.The two funds are a part of Julian Roberston's Tiger Management's broader <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-julian-robertsons-tiger-network-spans-hundreds-of-funds-2019-11">Tiger Cub network</a>, which is known for its focus on growth stocks, particularly in the tech sector. Sundheim, who was the CIO at Viking Global before launching D1 in 2018, joined funds like Tiger Global and Coatue in 2020 and 2021 in their aggressive funding of private companies. PitchBook notes that the firm has made 228 investments in private companies since six years ago.While the private portfolio has been a drag on Sundheim's overall returns the last three years — and he's now looking to public giants for AI exposure — he still said Tuesday that the most exciting company in the world is a private one: Elon Musk's SpaceX.D1 has a stake worth roughly $2.5 billion in the company, according to the II report.The two firms declined to comment.

Tiger Grandcubs on AI: How investors Dan Sundheim and Mala Gaonkar are thinking about the space

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/before-after-satellite-photos-hurricane-helene-destruction-florida-2024-10">Hurricane Helene</a> displaced alligators, turtles, and other wildlife in Florida.</li><li>Large storms often move wildlife from their habitats due to flooding.</li></ul>Florida's alligators, turtles, and even sharks are finding themselves in new territory in the wake of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/analysts-estimate-up-to-34-billion-damage-from-hurricane-helene-2024-10">Hurricane Helene</a>.On September 27, a Collier County Sheriff's Office drone captured footage of an alligator floating near San Marco Road in Southwest Florida, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dij7Xei-R4A">ABC-affiliate WZVN</a>.Large storms have been known to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-effects-environment-marine-mammals-fish-plants-2023-9">move wildlife</a> away from their typical habitats, especially when there's flooding."Alligators may be observed more frequently in flooded areas near marshes, swamps, rivers, and lakes after a hurricane or tropical storm," Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Lauren Claerbout told Business Insider via email.<div type="image" title="An alligator on shore among trees and dirt" height="4000" width="6000" msid="113952951" hostid="261" sizebytes="1477526"></div>If you do spot an alligator, don't approach it. "The best way people can <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-to-do-see-alligator-how-survive-attack-2023-5">stay safe</a> and help wildlife under storm conditions is to be alert and give wildlife their space," Claerbout said.<h2 id="c162324d-fb64-476c-be36-455db0e3b375">Displaced alligators aren't necessarily a threat</h2>During past hurricanes, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-alligators-swarming-unlivable-homes-damaged-hurricane-ian-official-says-2022-10">alligators have shown up</a> in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/07/us/video/tropical-storm-debby-alligators-digvid">backyards</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/video-shows-gigantic-gator-florida-golf-club-amid-tropical-storm-n1247617">golf courses</a>.In fact, it's not <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYv247hLkSw">uncommon</a> for Floridians to brush up against gators even during nicer weather. But murky flood waters can make them more difficult to detect.While people should be cautious, Claerbout said the FWC hasn't received any reports of alligator bites since Helene made landfall."Serious injuries <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-alligator-killed-florida-carrying-dead-body-mouth-2023-9">caused by alligators</a> are rare in Florida," she said. Moreover, research from the University of Florida <a target="_blank" href="https://crocdoc.ifas.ufl.edu/publications/factsheets/Alligator%20Attack%20Risk%20Comparison%202019.pdf">suggests</a> hurricanes don't increase alligator attacks.Ironically, it's the gators who may be <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jawless-alligator-rescued-florida-not-uncommon-wildlife-park-director-says-2023-9">more at risk</a>. In rural regions of Florida, like in Taylor and Levy counties, if a gator turns up in someone's backyard, "it'll likely get invited to dinner and be the main course," Levy County Sheriff's Lt. Scott Tummond told BI.<h2 id="f2e2d343-26a3-491c-9c4c-50856ec93338">Where alligators go before storms and what happens to the displaced ones</h2><div type="image" title="A sign saying beware of alligators in flooded water in front of boats" height="2147" width="3500" msid="113952952" hostid="261" sizebytes="1051012"></div>When a storm approaches, alligators can sense changes in pressure. "If a hurricane is moving in, they are likely preparing to hunker down," University of Florida's Justin R. Dalaba and Frank J. Mazzotti <a target="_blank" href="https://crocdoc.ifas.ufl.edu/publications/factsheets/Alligator%20Attack%20Risk%20Comparison%202019.pdf">wrote in 2019</a>.However, ahead of Hurricane Helene, one Florida gator <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alligators-pets-loose-pennsylvania-town-2023-9">strolled around</a> Lakeland neighborhoods northeast of Tampa and "got bold" enough to walk up to a house's front door, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article293066229.html">The Miami Herald reported</a>.A trapper removed that alligator, but experts don't necessarily always pick up every reptile someone sees. Typically, they only remove one if someone calls it in, and it's deemed a nuisance."Generally, an alligator may be considered a nuisance if it's at least 4 feet in length and believed to pose a threat to people, pets, or property," Calerbout said.When a trapper removes an alligator, they may process the animal for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hunting-alligators-helps-environment-and-people-2023-9">its hide and meat</a>, though some are sold alive to alligator farms or zoos. Florida's State Nuisance Alligator Program assesses whether it's safe to relocate gators that are smaller than 4 feet.<h2 id="d922d036-8d10-4810-bfe6-2c4f2a45f203">It wasn't just alligators that got caught up in Hurricane Helene's floods</h2><div type="image" title="Workers from Fish and Wildlife stand near a manatee stuck in a shallow pool of water near an airport" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113952950" hostid="261" sizebytes="402754"></div>Displaced alligators are more common than another animal a Florida resident spotted in a pond in Lakes Park over the weekend: a young bull shark. Bull sharks are unusual in that they can <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bull-sharks-can-survive-freshwater-lived-pond-17-years-2023-9">survive in both freshwater</a> and saltwater.While it's not certain the storm was responsible, Lakes Park did flood when Helene passed by. If the shark was swimming in a nearby creek, it could have accidentally found itself in the lake during the flood, Susannah Cogburn a graduate student studying sharks at the Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbc-2.com/article/baby-bull-shark-swimming-lakes-park-fort-myers/62476559">told NBC2.</a>The shark should be safe as long as it gets enough to eat, "which, as the only shark in the lake, it seems like they should have an ample amount of food to feed on," Cogburn said.FWC also rescued a manatee that was stranded near the runway at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base on September 28.Florida residents concerned about an animal that appears in distress can call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.

Video shows a stray alligator swimming near Florida's flooded streets after Hurricane Helene displaced it

The deadly landslides in Kerala's ecologically fragile Wayanad district were triggered by a heavy burst of rainfall, made 10 per cent heavier by <keyword id="19907392" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change" source="keywords">climate change</keyword>, according to a new rapid attribution study by a global team of scientists. Researchers from India, Sweden, the US and the UK warned that such events will become more common as the climate continues to warm. To measure the impact of human-caused climate change, the scientists from the <keyword id="12008149" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Weather-Attribution" source="Orion">World Weather Attribution</keyword> (WWA) group analysed climate models with high enough resolution to accurately reflect rainfall in the relatively small study area. The models indicated that the intensity of rainfall has increased by 10 per cent due to climate change, they said. The models also predict a further four per cent increase in rainfall intensity if the average <keyword id="21951013" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-temperature" source="keywords">global temperature</keyword> rises by two degrees Celsius compared to the 1850-1900 average. The scientists, however, said there is a "high level of uncertainty" in the model results as the study area is small and mountainous with complex rainfall-climate dynamics. Having said that, the increase in heavy one-day rainfall events aligns with a growing body of scientific evidence on extreme rainfall in a warming world, including in India, and the understanding that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, leading to heavier downpours. According to scientists, the atmosphere's capacity to hold moisture increases by about 7 per cent for every one-degree Celsius rise in global temperature. The Earth's global surface temperature has already increased by around 1.3 degrees Celsius due to the rapidly rising concentration of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide and methane. Scientists say this is the reason behind worsening <keyword id="19912530" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="extreme-weather-events" source="keywords">extreme weather events</keyword>, such as droughts, heat waves and floods worldwide. The WWA scientists said that while the relationship between land cover, land use changes and landslide risk in Wayanad is not fully clear from existing studies, factors, such as quarrying for building materials and a 62 per cent reduction in forest cover may have increased the slopes' susceptibility to landslides during heavy rainfall. Other researchers have also linked the <keyword id="22597176" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wayanad-landslides" source="keywords">Wayanad landslides</keyword> to a combination of forest cover loss, mining in fragile terrain and prolonged rain followed by heavy precipitation. S Abhilash, the director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), had earlier told PTI that the warming of the Arabian Sea is leading to the formation of deep cloud systems, resulting in extremely heavy rainfall in Kerala in a short period and increasing the risk of landslides. "Our research found that the southeast Arabian Sea is becoming warmer, causing the atmosphere above Kerala to become thermodynamically unstable. This instability is allowing the formation of deep clouds," he had said. According to the landslide atlas released by ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre last year, 10 out of the top 30 landslide-prone districts in India are in Kerala, with Wayanad ranked at the 13th spot. A study published by Springer in 2021 said all landslide hotspots in Kerala are in the Western Ghats region and are concentrated in Idukki, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. It said about 59 per cent of total landslides in Kerala have occurred in plantation areas. A 2022 study on depleting forest cover in Wayanad showed that 62 per cent of forests in the district disappeared between 1950 and 2018, while plantation cover rose by around 1,800 per cent.

Wayanad landslides linked to 10% heavier rainfall due to climate change: Study

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Scientists say that dozens of waterways in Alaska are "rusting," or turning into a dirty orange.</li><li>They said permafrost thawing in the summer is now exposing minerals to the surface, releasing metals and acid.</li></ul>At least 75 of Alaska's brooks and streams have been turning a dirty orange likely due to thawing permafrost, with some rivers so impacted that the discoloration can be seen via satellite, a new study says.This phenomenon, which researchers say comes amid unusually rapid warming in the region, was first observed in the northwestern state in 2018, scientists told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alaska-rivers-orange-permafrost-melting-iron-acidic-2024-1">Business Insider's Jenny McGrath in January.</a>The researchers have been stumped by it for years. But their findings, <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=e4eebf627b72abfc763e3ff1a92ddbee7dd89a18c94317ab0eae4b90a98b5a6d&amp;postID=664ea753f69613c040c727fa&amp;postSlug=75-alaskan-rivers-turning-orange-even-seen-from-space-study-2024-5&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs43247-024-01446-z">published Monday</a> in the peer-reviewed Communications Earth &amp; Environment journal, say that the waterways' rusty color likely comes from minerals uncovered by the thaw.Previously locked beneath Alaska's permafrost, these minerals are now exposed to water and oxygen, causing them to release acid and metals like zinc, copper, iron, and aluminum, the study said.The dissolved iron is thought to be the main culprit behind the "rusting" of the rivers, which typically occurs in July and August when the thaw is the most pronounced.But the implications of the melt go far beyond color. These waters are becoming so acidic that some are registering pH levels of 2.6, or between the equivalent of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/ph-scale">acidity of lemon juice and orange juice.</a>Pure water has a pH value of 7. Rivers and lakes typically have a pH value of 6.5 to 8, and acid rain has a pH value of 4.2 to 4.4.<div type="image" title="An image of the clear Akillik River in 2016 and the orange river in 2018" height="1500" width="2460" msid="110351935" hostid="261" sizebytes="825902"></div>"These findings have considerable implications for drinking water supplies and subsistence fisheries in rural Alaska," researchers wrote.They added that the region has already suffered the "complete loss" of two fish species due to the acidity: juvenile Dolly Varden trout and the Slimy Sculpin. Chum salmon and whitefish are also at risk of population decline, they said.The changes could be devastating for indigenous tribes in the region, which <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uaf.edu/tribal/academics/112/unit-3/tribalhuntingandfishingrightssubsistenceanilca1980.php">rely heavily on fishing,</a> researchers noted.The 75 orange streams observed were scattered across northern Alaska over a span of about 600 miles, the study said. All of them were in remote areas, miles away from human activity that could impact land, such as roads or mining.Researchers highlighted satellite images of the Agashashok River, a tributary of the Kuguroruk River, and the Anaktok Creek tributary of the Salmon River in northwest Alaska. They said all three have turned considerably redder in the summer months of the last 10 years.<div type="image" title="An orange tributary joins the Kugaroruk River in Alaska." height="2718" width="3625" msid="110351938" hostid="261" sizebytes="1046820"></div>Scientists warn that Alaska is warming at a rate <a target="_blank" href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/36/13/JCLI-D-22-0434.1.xml">two to three times the global average.</a>The Biden administration <a target="_blank" href="https://nca2023.globalchange.gov/chapter/29/">projected in November that the state would need an estimated $4.8 billion</a> in infrastructure repair and adaptation over the next 50 years due to rising temperatures and damage from flooding, erosion, and permafrost thaw.According to the administration's multiagency report, Alaska's fishing and tourism industries, which collectively provide more than 90,000 jobs and $2.57 billion in wages, are also at risk, with fish stocks expected to collapse and winter tourism likely falling.

Alaska's pristine rivers are turning a rusty orange even when seen from space, likely because of melting permafrost: study

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Chevrolet is hopeful its offerings will break through in a new EV market.</li><li>Flooding the zone has worked with gas-powered cars.</li></ul>Chevrolet's new lineup of electric vehicles is arguably showing up at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicle-misconceptions-about-the-ev-transition-market-sales-2024-5">worst possible time</a>.After a few years of rapid growth, EV sales are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-electric-car-sales-plateau-early-adopters-competition-2023-8">hitting a plateau</a>. This has led to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-back-to-the-drawing-board-ev-plans-2024-2">massive changes in EV strategies</a> at most major automakers, with many now pivoting to hybrids.And yet, Chevrolet Chief Marketing Officer Steve Majoros doesn't seem worried about the company's chances in this new EV market. He sat down with Business Insider last week at a press event for the launch of two electric vehicles: the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-chevy-silverado-ev-truck-chevrolet-f150-lightning-2022-9">Silverado electric pickup truck</a> and the Chevy Equinox EV."I think it actually benefits Chevrolet," Majoros says of the changing EV market, which is now dominated by more frugal and practical customers—Chevy's bread and butter. Given that, he says, Chevrolet is pressing forward with EVs in hopes that their offerings can break through.This lean-in approach is a classic strategy for a mass-market brand like Chevy. For years, Chevrolet has offered a wide range of pickup trucks, SUVs, and crossovers to meet demand for a huge swath of customers.Simply by slotting vehicles in a segment and at a certain price point, Chevrolet, typically the third-largest brand in the US after Ford and Toyota, is able to siphon off market share from competitors and grow its volume.It appears the brand is taking the same approach with its EVs, but it could turn out to be a risky move. Chevy's first attempt at electrifying an existing nameplate – the Blazer EV – got off to a rocky start with a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/general-motors-halts-sales-of-chevy-blazer-ev-software-issue-2023-12">stop-sale related to software issues</a>. Majoros insisted Blazer EV is recovering and notched impressive monthly sales, but didn't provide specifics since GM no longer shares monthly sales numbers.<h2 id="c61e9a7a-6f11-4da8-8226-75b60bc2c1d6">Chevy is banking on more EV options leading to more buyers</h2>Chevrolet is banking on the conventional wisdom in the automotive industry that half the battle of converting a customer to an EV is getting them in front of the vehicle.Majoros offers a point of proof that a flood-the-zone approach might be working: Dealers and their employees – often the first to experience these electric cars – are also among Chevy's most reliable early EV adopters.Majoros offers a point of proof that a flood-the-zone approach might be working: Dealers and their employees – often the first to experience these electric cars – are also among Chevy's most reliable early EV adopters."We're talking to a lot of first-time EV buyers with the Blazer EV, and a lot of them are dealership employees," Majoros said. "They get the first look at these cars, they test drive them and realize, 'This thing's pretty damn good.'"Dealers and their employees buying up their own EV supply i<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/car-dealers-love-electric-cars-just-dont-cant-convince-shoppers-2023-11">sn't necessarily a new phenomenon</a>. Many of them see EV ownership as a requirement for selling these high-tech cars in order to speak with authority about the experience of driving, charging, and daily maintenance.Dealers who own EVs are often enthusiastic about their battery-powered cars, but the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-car-dealerships-rocky-year-ev-transition-2023-12">trouble comes</a> when trying to convince their customers. Factors like steep upfront costs, quirks of ownership, and overall lifestyle changes required to replace a gas-powered car with an EV keeps an entire swath of customers out of the battery-electric segment, dealers say.Majoros concedes those points but thinks Chevy is poised to change a lot of minds with its new mass-market lineup of EVs. The Equinox, in particular, slots into <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-demand-still-strong-despite-slowdown-hybrids-survey-2024-1">the current EV market</a> well, with a starting price of $43,295 and an estimated range of 319 miles."We're on the precipice of this click for a lot of customers," Majoros said. "Every year, or even every month, more people own EVs, talk about them with their friends or coworkers—all those factors add up for a brand like Chevrolet."<h2 id="c61d4e18-921f-44c9-a148-825620df0dfb">More EVs doesn't have to mean fewer gas-powered or hybrid cars</h2>While Chevrolet waits for this "click" to happen, Majoros points out that the brand still has plenty of gas-powered cars to keep dealer lots humming. He also pointed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-hybrids-plan-good-for-car-dealers-and-shopper-2024-1">GM's plans to integrate hybrids</a> into the US market but didn't offer a timeline for those releases.GM isn't the only automaker relying on its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-challenges-amid-hybrid-craze-ford-gm-gas-profits-2024-4">gas-powered profits</a> to shepherd it through this EV slowdown. Other legacy car companies are pulling back on EV goals, leaning harder into hybrids, and relying on the success of traditional gas guzzlers to offset losses in the still unprofitable EV business.Chevrolet's dealers "have that reassurance of a pretty good and steady base of internal combustion engine product," Majoros told a group of journalists. "We are going nowhere in that space."

Chevy's risky plan for EV dominance: Flood the zone as competitors pull back 

For a long time, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/reddit">Reddit</a> felt like it wasn't a place for everyone. Not that everyone couldn't be there — it's free to join, completely anonymous, and you can lurk without an account — but it was also a weird, sometimes dark little corner of the internet, probably closer to 4chan than Instagram. It was a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-new-content-policy-2015-7">bastion of free speech</a> but <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-ceo-said-racism-is-okay-2018-4">one that could get ugly</a>, something that Reddit leadership <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-war-users-community-free-speech-ellen-pao-victoria-taylor-2015-7">struggled to define and defend</a>. The interface was tricky to navigate for those not in the know.Nowadays, Reddit is a different — and more mainstream — beast. It's spent the past several years <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/19/reddit-and-the-struggle-to-detoxify-the-internet">cleaning itself up</a>. It's banned controversial subreddits and made the platform a more pleasant, user-friendly place to be. As its cofounder and CEO Steve Huffman told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/19/reddit-and-the-struggle-to-detoxify-the-internet">The New Yorker in 2018</a>, the platform worked to get its "shit together."Moderators of individual subreddits — users that manage communities and enforce their content rules — still run much of the show but under a tighter set of policies. The moderators are pretty good at keeping their own houses in order, and in a landscape where AI spam is making it increasingly hard to figure out what's authentic information, Reddit's community-driven content and policing shine. Real, actual, live human beings are talking to each other, which, on balance, is good. This broadening of the platform has also been reflected in the business. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddits-ipo-set-to-take-front-page-of-internet-public-2024-3">Reddit went public</a> earlier this year at a $6.4 billion valuation, and last quarter, the 20-year-old company turned a profit for the first time in its history. Reddit lovers and noobs are flocking to the site, thanks in part to the Google gods. The search platform is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-reddit-is-taking-over-google-right-now-2024-4">prioritizing Reddit's results</a>. There's speculation that it has to do with the companies' $60 million <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/1ax1nyh/reddit_has_struck_a_60_million_deal_with_google/">deal</a> to let Google use Reddit's data to train its AI, though both deny that's the case.Normal people — or, rather, people who aren't so steeped in online culture — are also seeking Reddit out. If you've recently found yourself inputting whatever search term and then tacking "reddit" onto the end of the search, you're not alone: On the company's most recent earnings call in October, Huffman said it's the sixth-most-Googled term in the United States this year."Those are people literally typing the word Reddit into Google," Huffman said. "So they know they're going to end up on it. They're using, in this case, Google to navigate Reddit."In other words, Reddit is a little bit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-search-getting-worse-spam-affiliate-links-duckduckgo-bing-2024-1">the new Google</a>. And while people may not be heading in droves to Reddit to search directly, the hope is — at least on Reddit's end — that they someday will.It's not just Google. Other tech platforms' missteps have become some of Reddit's gains. As Twitter has become a worse, uglier forum for discourse, Reddit has emerged as an alternative for users and advertisers alike. People are increasingly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vox.com/technology/23962999/best-product-reviews-shopping-reddit">using Reddit to find reviews</a> instead of turning to places such as Amazon, where the review section is often flooded with fakes. It's also becoming a more trusted place for reliable information — even <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/10/white-house-reddit-disinformation/680220/">the White House is using it to combat misinformation</a>.Basically, if you want to get honest opinions about a crockpot you're considering or get a sense of what recovery from a medical treatment might be like based on real-life experiences, Reddit is becoming the place to go for more people, including people who would have shied away just a few years ago.For those not paying close attention, Reddit's most recent earnings report was a bit of a "Wait, what?" moment. Its <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/reddit-stock-skyrockets-earnings-beat-ai-growth-revenue-huffman-2024-10">stock popped</a> after the company announced that its revenue had jumped by 68% and its daily active users increased by 47% compared to a year ago. Revenue from ads was up, as was cash from other areas — namely, Reddit licensing its data to train AI.Much of the boost in eyeballs appears to be coming from people who are relatively new to Reddit or who don't have accounts. Reddit's daily active users who are logged in to their account is up 27%, but that metric is up by 70% for people who are logged out. This is a bit of a risky proposition for Reddit — Wall Street and advertisers are more focused on that logged-in number because, <a target="_blank" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/reddit-traffic-google-search-growth.html">as John Herrman at New York Magazine points out</a>, the Google algorithm can always shift against you, shutting off the traffic spigot. But for the purposes of looking at what's going on with consumers, the story is pretty clear: Lots of people are landing on Reddit more often, many of whom are casual browsers."It has gone from kind of a fringy and kind of, 'I'm not sure about it,' to very mainstream, and it's showing up in the numbers," said Mark Lehmann, the CEO of Citizens JMP Securities, one of the banks to help take Reddit public. He added that given how quickly the platform has grown and "monetized things even faster than people thought, I think it shows you the power of the leverage of the brand and the legitimization."To be clear, Reddit is still pretty small compared to other social-media sites. As <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=e1355fc23cfc066980304c13aa726ac457ef26acf9ae7b17eddf693d740d7560&amp;postID=672a7cbbd057d3e5c5c4df84&amp;postSlug=reddit-mainstream-google-traffic-stock-revenue-human-users-2024-11&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Fwhy-reddits-explosive-growth-could-last">Anita Ramaswamy at the Information notes</a>, Snap has over 400 million daily users, and Meta has 3 billion across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, whereas Reddit has 97 million. Reddit's growing fast, though, and it's got a lot of room to grow. Marcel Hollerbach, the cofounder and chief innovation officer of Productsup, an e-commerce software company, compared Reddit's potential growth to that of Amazon."When you look at product searches, they tended to start primarily on Google, and nowadays Amazon actually has more product-search-related traffic than Google has," he said. "I would assume that, I mean, it's a matter of time until people figure out that probably if they're searching for a conversation around something or they want real user feedback and not just like a Wikipedia page or something, they might directly start engaging with Reddit."Reddit's recent ascendance was not a foregone conclusion. I won't dive into the site's full history, but let's just say it's had its fair share of controversies and upheavals, including over-greenlighting some <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-bans-r-fatpeoplehate-the-community-furious-ellen-pao-2015-6">pretty gross subreddits</a>, being a home for<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-jennifer-lawrence-nude-photos-on-reddit-2014-9"> leaked nude celebrity photos</a>, and allowing a fair amount of racist, sexist, offensive, and even potentially illegal content to run rampant. It's also dealt with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-blackout-48-hour-what-you-need-to-know-2023-6">revolts</a> from users and moderators. Even if you're not aware of the specifics of the fuss around Reddit, for a lot of people, it just had a reputation as being off the beaten path. In many ways, that's a positive — it gave space for people to anonymously have real conversations and engage with niche communities they might not find anywhere else. But there were also, as mentioned, some downsides.Part of what's happened with Reddit is that it's grown up. In terms of moderation, it's not perfect, but no one can even agree on what perfect is. If it wants to keep growing — and be on the public markets — there's a level of maturity that is necessary. Scott Kessler, the global sector lead of technology, media, and telecommunications at Third Bridge Group, pointed to the takeoff of r/WallStreetBets and the subsequent attention to the subreddit, especially during <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wallstreetbets-gamestop-nathaniel-popper-book-excerpt-2024-6">the GameStop short squeeze</a>, as a recent touchpoint that helped push Reddit into the mainstream. As much as WSB was treated as fringe at the time, it became much less so, especially after the media caught on. Two more things have caught people's attention when it comes to possible growth and performance: AI and data licensing and machine translation into other languages. Reddit isn't just reaching more people in the US, it's reaching more people everywhere. Going public, for Reddit, has entailed becoming a more welcoming place for users as well as for investors, Kessler said. If you're hosting a subreddit where illegal activity's going on, it's very different to deal with it as a private company than a public one."If you're public and these things come out, I mean, that could start having an impact on your market cap. And so that obviously will make a whole host of stakeholders unhappy," he said. It's not dissimilar to PayPal clamping down on gambling transactions in the early 2000s.Not everyone is thrilled with the normie-zation of Reddit. Jessica Melton, a 33-year-old longtime Redditor in Seattle, told me that it took a while for her to get the hang of Reddit when her then "self-proclaimed nerd" boyfriend introduced her to it in high school. But then, she felt like it helped her become her own person. It's where she found tips for approaching her first gynecological appointment, how she discovered she had a relatively common skin-picking disorder, why she decided to go to therapy, and how she navigated being the first among her friends to become a mom. She likes that there's more moderation now because there were some "really disgusting subreddits," but she also misses some of the specificity and smallness of the old days."There's way more ads, more sponsored stuff, more influencers in general, too," she said. "I have noticed more brands posting and pretending not to be a brand, and it's really obvious for people who have been on Reddit for a while. And it's annoying."To some extent, it's impossible to keep it too weird while becoming mainstream, and there's some specialness that's inevitably lost with growth. What's been gained isn't all good, either. Many of the factors that have driven people away from other platforms, whether it be Amazon or Instagram or Google, are things to which Reddit isn't immune. AI bots can talk on Reddit. Brands can overrun it. Just as search engine optimization operations have gotten good at gaming Google, they can likely do it on Reddit, too.Perhaps right now, Reddit's in almost a sweet spot: not so big that it's completely ruined by corporatization, not so niche and unwieldy that it's a hellscape. It's part social media, part search engine, part just a place for real answers, or as close to real as you're going to get on the internet today.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

How Reddit went from a weird corner of the web to everyone's favorite digital hangout

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jodi Wright, 56, moved from California to Idaho in 2020 in search of a quiet place to retire.</li><li>Wright and her family built a custom home outside Boise.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jodi Wright, a 56-year-old stay-at-home mother whose family moved from Sacramento, California, to Caldwell, Idaho, a small town about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boise-idaho-fastest-growing-city-in-us-photos-growth-cost-2019-12">30 minutes west of Boise</a>, in 2020.Idaho's housing market has exploded in the last half-decade, with the median home price jumping from $360,700 in September 2020 to $481,100 in September 2024, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.redfin.com/state/Idaho/housing-market">data</a> from Redfin. Meanwhile, median home prices in Boise specifically jumped from $389,500 in September 2020 to $525,000 in September 2024, according to Redfin <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.redfin.com/city/2287/ID/Boise/housing-market">data</a>.The following has been lightly edited for clarity and length.I was born in Washington State. When I graduated high school, I wanted a change of scenery, so I packed up my car and moved to California.I met my husband here, and he's a police officer. We were blessed with triplets, but one of our sons passed away soon after being born. It was terrible, but it definitely clarified life.We've always been outdoorsy people. Any vacations we take are usually geared around the beach or Disney. You can pretty much do that year-round here in California, which we love.But the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boomer-couldnt-afford-retirement-in-california-moved-abroad-travel-happy-2024-10">cost of living is so high</a>, and our political affiliation is Republican. That became a problem when COVID hit, and they shut down the schools. Our kids were in second grade and struggling.We had already purchased land in Idaho back in 2018. We were planning to move <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-realistic-retirement-age-in-every-us-state">once my husband retired</a>, but COVID sped up our plans.<h2 id="be30dace-cb0d-4dec-bf49-d04402a28c7c">We moved to Idaho in December 2020</h2>We listed our house in California, and it sold in one day. We sold it for $699,000. On Zillow, it's now worth over $900,000.My husband wasn't old enough to retire yet, so he stayed in California to keep working. We figured we would just make do for a few years until my husband could join us full-time.We were a little nervous about how that would work. But he traveled back and forth to Idaho two or three times a month. Plus, we would FaceTime.We started <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boise-idaho-downtown-breweries-coffee-shops-restaurants-2019-11">building our Idaho house</a> in a town called Caldwell, which is part of the Treasure Valley on the outskirts of the Boise area. It was still affordable at that time. If we were to move there now, we could not afford the house we built, which cost us about $750,000.It would probably cost twice as much to build it there today.<div type="image" title="A photo of Jodi Wright and her family at Disneyland next to a photo of Boise" height="1080" width="1440" msid="114655905" hostid="261" sizebytes="223476"></div>It was a big house, almost 4,000 square feet, with four bedrooms and five bathrooms. We had a fabulous <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-to-coeur-dalene-idaho-where-people-moved-during-pandemic-2021-7">view of the river and the mountains</a> on two and a half acres out in the country in a small subdivision.We wanted to live in the country, have a little more space between neighbors, and less of the hustle and bustle we were used to here in California. Our favorite part of Idaho was how quiet it was where we lived.One of the major differences we noticed between California and Idaho is how <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-left-new-york-city-for-boise-idaho-2018-11">clean Idaho</a> is. You don't see a bunch of graffiti or trash everywhere.<h2 id="4289a914-48e2-43ef-ac19-a7c8a8743c74">But we only stayed in Idaho for four years</h2>We definitely thought our <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pandemic-boom-towns-housing-market-slowdown-real-estate-agents-2022-8">money was going to go farther in Idaho</a>. Certain things are cheaper, like power and gas. So, we thought the overall cost of living would be less.But it felt like prices really started to increase in 2021. Part of that was life in general becoming <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-cost-of-living-what-is-middle-class-housing-market-2024-4">more expensive with inflation</a>. But a lot of things in Idaho felt comparable to California.When we first got to Idaho, my husband used to fly back and forth for less than $150. But over time, round trips got up to $300 or more.Our auto insurance and homeowner's insurance were cheaper than they had been in California at first. But in our last two years living there, both almost doubled.The weather in Idaho turned out to be not conducive to our lifestyle either. You can't really know a place until you live here. The wind blows really badly there for six or seven months a year. Plus, Idaho gets a lot of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/west-coast-hazardous-air-quality-worst-on-earth-wildfire-smoke-2020-9">fire smoke</a> from California and Oregon. The first two summers we were there, we barely went outside because the air quality was so bad. The wind there just made it so much worse.<div type="image" title="A hazy photo of boise" height="2194" width="4388" msid="114655903" hostid="261" sizebytes="264504"></div>By the end of 2022, we started thinking Idaho was maybe not the place for us.We talked a lot about maybe moving somewhere else. But the more we talked, the more we realized that California is home. Despite the politics and cost of living, it's home.<h2 id="01bc6214-665d-4781-8ae1-6b4bf3bdf266">We moved back to California in June.</h2>I'm glad we went to Idaho. We don't regret it at all. My kids got a great education there. We made the best of it and enjoyed it.It took us a year to sell our house in Idaho because the housing market is flooded at the higher end. We still managed to make a couple hundred thousand.Now that we're back in California, we're also paying less for car insurance than we were in Idaho.We recently bought a house in Dixon, California, for $760,000, which we'll be moving into in the next few months.We're just going to carve our little piece of happiness here in California.

We moved from California to Idaho with small-town retirement dreams but moved back after 4 years. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tulare Lake used to be the largest lake west of the Mississippi River.</li><li>Farmers diverted the lake's water in the 1920s and replaced it with farmland.</li></ul>California's <a href="https://www.insider.com/california-weather-whiplash-floods-drought-getting-worse-atmospheric-rivers-2023-1">heavy rainfall this past winter</a> may have ended the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/take-a-look-at-lakes-that-dried-up-california-drought-2021-6">years-long drought</a>, but it also brought back the long-dormant Tulare Lake.This phantom lake — which occasionally resurfaces during years of unusually high precipitation — is <a href="https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/good-food/diet-culture-parenting-sri-lankan-cuisine-farmland-water/tulare-lake-water-central-valley-california-mark-arax" target="_blank" rel="noopener">larger than it's been in 150 years</a>.The basin began rapidly flooding around March 12-14, when <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151107/precipitation-piles-on-in-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two major storms hit California</a>.The flooding was so massive that NASA satellite <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151284/tulare-lake-grows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">images captured it from space.</a> Here's what the lakebed looked like on February 1, before the flooding:<div type="image" title="Satellite image of Tulare Lake before it flooded in 2023." height="1572" width="1741" msid="101802097" hostid="261" sizebytes="277356"></div>And here's what it looked like on April 30:<div type="image" title="Satellite image of Tulare Lake flooded in 2023." height="1572" width="1741" msid="101802099" hostid="261" sizebytes="242150"></div><h2>Tulare lake flooding threatens California farms</h2>The Tulare lakebed, which is located in the southern San Joaquin Valley, happens to be set on the <a href="https://cawaterlibrary.net/hydrological-region/tulare-lake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">largest agricultural region in the entire state</a> of California.NASA said the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-california-floods-show-damage-rescues-more-rain-coming-2023-1">devastating flooding</a> will likely <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151284/tulare-lake-grows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continue into 2024</a>. That means local farmers may not be able to plant new crops <a href="https://asmith.ucdavis.edu/news/most-tulare-lake-lies-inside-one-big-farm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">until 2025</a>.That likely drop in supply has the potential to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65071268">drive up food prices</a>, particularly for produce.<div type="image" title="Four satellite images showing the rapid progression of flooding in Tulare Lake." height="350" width="720" msid="101802101" hostid="261" sizebytes="57142"></div>As of June, the flooded parts of Tulare Lake spanned about <a href="https://abc7news.com/tulare-lake-reaches-peak-california-2023/13356811" target="_blank" rel="noopener">178 square miles</a>, or 113,920 acres — almost the size of Lake Tahoe.One acre-foot, the amount of water it takes to cover an acre of land to a depth of one foot, is equal to 325,851 gallons of water, United States Department of Agriculture meteorologist <a href="https://www.usda.gov/oce/weather-drought-monitor/staff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brad Rippey</a> told Insider in July.While it's unclear how deep Tulare Lake is now, if it's similar to its former <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-03-24/as-tulare-lake-reappears-floodwaters-raise-tensions-in-san-joaquin-valley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">average depth of about 30 feet</a>, that would translate to more than one trillion gallons of water that have flooded the region so far this year, Rippey said. That's enough to fill over 1.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.Many of the state's <a href="https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">top agricultural commodities</a> are <a href="https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Statistics/PDFs/2020_Ag_Stats_Review.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grown in Tulare County</a>, which is the third largest agricultural producing-county in the state. In 2019, Tulare County churned out more than $7.5 billion worth of commodities, including dairy products, table grapes, navel oranges, and cattle.<div type="image" title="Flooded farm crops in Tulare Lake in California." height="683" width="1024" msid="101802103" hostid="261" sizebytes="37784"></div><a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> estimated the damage from flooding across central California between December 2022 and March 2023 will cost roughly $4.6 billion.Rippey said crops in the vineyards and orchards, like nuts and berries, will likely sustain more damage than row crops since entire trees and vines will need to be replanted.<a href="https://www.tacfarming.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TAC Farm</a> sits right at the southeast shoreline of the lakebed. Fortunately for owner Dennis Hutson, the water hasn't flooded his farmland yet.Hutson said he witnessed the flooding of Tulare Lake in 1983 and 1997. This time around, he noticed one key difference: the <a href="https://kmph.com/news/local/hwy-43-closed-south-of-corcoran-due-to-flooding-lake-success-porterville-sierra-nevada-tule-river-tulare-county-kings-county-california-atmospheric-river" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flooding of Highway 43</a> along the southern San Joaquin Valley. "You saw water on both sides of it, but I don't recall the actual roads flooding at that time," he told Insider, adding that this unusual flooding may be due to local farmers possibly <a href="https://sjvwater.org/flooding-out-other-farmers-was-premeditated-by-the-powerful-j-g-boswell-company-one-farmer-asserts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vandalizing the levies</a> in order to drain the water from their land and redirect it elsewhere.<div type="image" title="Road with water covering it by flooding of Tulare Lake." height="683" width="1024" msid="101802105" hostid="261" sizebytes="51470"></div><h2>Rainfall and a melting snowpack: the perfect storm</h2>Tulare Lake was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River — until the 1920s when local farmers began diverting the water from the rivers feeding the lake.As for why the lake returned with a vengeance this spring, blame it on the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/29/californias-snow-rain-totals-explained/11525451002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">78 trillion gallons of water</a> and counting that have fallen on California between October 1, 2022 and March 20 of this year.By the end of February 2023, Tulare County had its <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping/4/pcp/202302/8/rank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fourth wettest season on record</a>.Nicholas Pinter, professor of applied geosciences and associate director of the <a href="https://watershed.ucdavis.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Center for Watershed Sciences</a> at the University of California Davis, described Tulare Lake to Insider as "a bathtub without a drain.""Statewide, most flooding was concentrated in low spots in the topography, like Tulare Lake," he said during his May 23 testimony at the California Committee on Agriculture Assembly, which he shared with Insider. "After weeks of rain, the water had basically nowhere else to go."Meanwhile, the Southern Sierra Nevada snowpack <a href="https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2023/April-23/Snow-Survey-April-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached about 300% of the typical season peak in early April</a> — a record high.Here's what the snowpack looked like in March 2022:<div type="image" title="Satellite image of San Joaquin Valley showing snow amount in light blue on March 16, 2022." height="2191" width="3507" msid="101802107" hostid="261" sizebytes="696266"></div>Compared to March 2023:<div type="image" title="Satellite image of San Joaquin Valley on March 16, 2023 showing significantly larger light blue region of snow." height="2191" width="3507" msid="101802109" hostid="261" sizebytes="960076"></div>Tulare Lake began to reappear this March, before <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/california-storms-boost-snowpack-epic-skiing-conditions-amid-drought-2023-1">the Sierra Nevada snowpack</a> started meltin. But as temperatures rise into summer and the snowpack begins to melt, that water flows into the Southern Central Valley, Rippey said."If the snow melts too quickly, then the valley cannot drain it and Tulare Lake fills," he told Insider. "That's what is happening now. The lake has been sustained — and even further enlarged — during the snow-melt season."It's hard to predict how long the lake will remain, but given the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/temperatures-seen-surging-el-nino-weather-pattern-returns-wmo-2023-07-04/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent development of El Niño</a>, Rippey said climatological odds are tilted toward another wet winter — which could sustain Tulare Lake into 2024 or beyond.

Space photos show over 1 trillion gallons of water flooding crop fields in California, and it could mean higher food prices

Earth Day is celebrating its 50th anniversary today. Each year, on April 22, Earth Day is celebrated as the largest <a href="https://www.earthday.org/about/the-history-of-earth-day/">secular</a> observance in the world where <keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change">climate change</keyword>, plastic pollution, endangered species are a part of an environmental movement worldwide. Since the 1970’s, when the movement emerged, it has transformed from an anti-war campaign to a voice focused on global warming and clean energy. <div type="twitter" handle="NASA" handlename="NASA" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1091070803184177153/TI2qItoi_normal.jpg" favoritecount="2554" retweetcount="888" status="The outlet glacier of Vavilov Ice Cap has gone from sliding 20 meters per year to 20 meters per day. What triggered… https://t.co/tla19m0hJf" createdat="1555876086000" id="1120051602444959745"></div>

 The concerns of global warming and its effects are more pertinent now than ever before. Pictures from space agencies around the world like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos), and the China National Space Administration highlight just how fragile the Earth can be.

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Space photos show over 1 trillion gallons of water flooding crop fields in California, and it could mean higher food prices

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