350,000 remain without power after storm

Dan Meyer of Wilmette Illinois chops up the trees that block his driveway after taking a day off to get his home back in order after yesterday's storm. | Al Podgorski~Chicago Sun-Times

About 350,000 people remain without power Tuesday morning following Monday’s “derecho” -- a short, violent windstorm that pounded the Chicago area with hurricane-force winds.

Power outages are maddening, but little can be done to stop them

‘People can’t live like this,” said a reader sitting in the dark in Park Ridge. “I’ve [had my power] down five times in a year, I’ve wasted I don’t know how many hundreds of dollars of food. We’re down again today from a little wind and rain that lasted a total of six minutes. Their service is horrendous. They will not give you an answer. It’s outrageous what we go through. Last time I was down three days, now I may be down three or four days. It’s not the Middle Ages. Maybe you can do something.”

Australian Carbon Tax: Big Coal Not Scared

On Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced a plan to make Oz the first nation to put a price on carbon pollution. In a world sorely lacking for signs that political leaders are taking the threat of global warming seriously, it is big news – especially given the fact that Australia has the largest per-capita carbon footprint in the world. The plan, which is expected to pass both houses of parliament before the end of the year, would require the nation’s 500 biggest CO2 emitters to pay a tax of $24 per ton of carbon dioxide, with that price increasing by 2.5 percent each year until 2015, when the tax will end and an emissions-trading scheme will be introduced. By 2050, Gillard's plan will reduce emissions by 80 percent and channel about $10 billion into energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. "I want people to understand we are seizing a clean energy future," Gillard said.

Chicago in the dark! - massive storms cause massive blackout!

(CNN) -- About 390,000 customers in the greater Chicago area were without power early Tuesday morning following massive storms that moved through the area a day earlier.

Full restoration could take several days, said Judy Rader, a spokeswoman with the ComEd utility company.

Heat wave moving Northeast!

• The heat index is expected to exceed 105 degrees in 23 states
• Heat advisories are expected to last through at least Tuesday
• Excessive heat is extremely hazardous to human health
• Heat-related death reported in Illinois