This extraordinary photo was taken by Lori Mehmen, who lives in the small farming town of Orchard in northeastern Iowa.

From the New York Times

Little Sioux, Iowa. A Tornado ripped through the Little Sioux Scout Ranch killing 4 teenage boy scouts and injuring over 40 people.

Josh Fennen, 13; Sam Thomsen, 13, and Ben Petrzilka, 14, all of Omaha, Nebraska; and Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, Iowa all lost their lives.

Tornadoes also touched down in Kansas on Wednesday. Those tornadoes killed at least two people in northern Kansas, destroyed much of the small town of Chapman and caused extensive damage on the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan.

takepart and visit the Daily Green’s ecopedia.

Related:
Tornado Kills 4 in Iowa Boy Scout Camp
Boy Scouts’ actions after tornado called heroic
Scouts praised for response to tornado in Iowa

About a month ago, I posted something about Greensburg, Kansas rebuilding into the model green community following tornadoes that destroyed the town.  Well, apparently I’m not the only person that’s heard about this.  Go figure. 

In fact, Leonardo DiCaprio, when taking a break from being Mr. Environmental Guy (actual nickname), is producing and hosting a 13-part series on the town for Planet Green, the new channel we’re all pretty pumped about. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Storms continue to ravage the midwest as a tornado tore through a 20-block swath of Picher late Saturday afternoon, killing at least seven people. The same storm system then moved into southwest Missouri taking the lives of at least 12 others. Then today, those storms moved through Georgia, killing at least one person.

Georgia Power officials say at least 80,000 residents are without electricity across the state, mostly concentrated in the metro Atlanta area and the Macon area.

and visit http://www.redcross.org/ to see how you can help the Red Cross help tornado victims. Also check out their guide about how to prepare for a tornado.