When the "Dengue Fever1 in Key West" story broke last week, we were all set to regale you on the IPCC's prediction of tropical diseases expanding their range, Disney cruise lines re-routing their vessels and tourists canceling their vacations.  It was a good thing other activities got in the way of blogging.  As it turns out, the story gets much more interesting.      One of the concerns raised by climate change is that tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever will infect more people.  The theory is that the altitudinal and latitudi...

Well, they finally got around to it. Since May 31 the National Flood Insurance Program has had no authority to issue flood insurance contracts. The House approved extending the NFIP's authority on June 23, the Senate on June 30, and the President signed the bill July 2, retroactive to June 1 (fittingly, the first day of the official Atlantic hurricane season). This is not a new circumstance. The NFIP's authority first lapsed on March 1, again on March 28 and will do so again on September 30, absent a long-term extension. So what does it mean when the NFIP can't make loans? Dante described a p...