I wonder if the Washington Post, which had an Editorial Board whine about “climate change” on the 20th, and Katrina vanden Heuval, with today’s whine, have given up their own fossil fueled livestyles yet?
One year after Sandy — ignoring climate change at our own peril
It’s been one year since Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the eastern coast of the United States, affecting 24 states and devastating parts of New Jersey and New York. Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed. Millions were left without power. As many as 100 people died; most of whom drowned as the storm surged in Staten Island and Queens. At $65 billion, Sandy was the second costliest storm in U.S. history.
Today, communities that were reduced to rubble are steadily recovering. And yet, one year later, policymakers have yet to address climate change, which undoubtedly contributed to the strength, magnitude and danger of Sandy. There is little discussion of rebuilding in a way that better prepares us for the ravages of future storms. And after Washington’s most recent shameful display of deadlock and dysfunction, it would be wishful thinking to presume that Congress will act on this issue anytime soon.
Interesting. Because the only tropical system to make landfall this year was Andrea, which wasn’t even at hurricane strength. Both the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific seasons have been very weak. We’re approaching 8 years since the last major hurricane made US landfall. There has only been one landfalling hurricane since 2008, and it could be argued that Issac wasn’t a hurricane, just a very strong tropical storm.
And yet, whether a disaster of our maker or of our making, after the dust settles, after the floodwaters recede, after we comfort the survivors and bury the dead, very little changes. Our leaders pour billions of dollars into rebuilding the same homes and businesses on increasingly vulnerable coastlines but refuse to invest in fortifying them against the volatile elements. Many refuse to acknowledge that global warming contributes to extreme weather events. They refuse to admit that the cumulative effects of these catastrophes cannot be sustained.
Got that? It doesn’t matter if it is natural or man-induced, we need to Do Something. Even though there’s been no statistically significant warming in over 16 years. Talk about deluded, dogmatic, and cultish.
If there’s any good news, it’s that while our politicians may ignore reality, more and more Americans understand that our responsibility to the earth is an existential one. From the growth of the sustainable food movement to groups like 350.org to a rising generation of youth across party lines concerned about climate change, people are embracing the lessons of Wendell Berry. Now, the challenge is to take that energy and generate enough political pressure to spur action.
LOL. The Warmists have been pushing this spreading awareness meme for 25 years, yet still won’t change their own lives. They’re more than happy to push projects, law, and regulations that force Other People to live under the Warmist beliefs, though.
Theyve been pushing this for 50 years.
And, most of the dead were killed outside of US. THanks to strong building techniques, we saved more lives yet we had more surface area affected. And, thanks to early warning, many people had time to flee.
And thanks to a warming globe, the storm was not worse than a Cat 1 storm.
The fact that not much has been done for the people of NJ and NY, is all of a problem with the political system than with the climate.
vanden Heuvel was parroting what she has heard from climate scientists but stepped too far. As did the subsequent Post op-ed. Here’s what vanden Heuvel wrote:
“Certainly, it will take much more research to understand whether there’s a direct link between Sandy and climate change. But we do know that storm’s impact was made worse by rising sea levels, increasing ocean temperatures and unusual weather patterns, all of which are definitively connected to climate change.”
Her first sentence is true, her second sentence, not so much.
Most climate scientists will tell you it’s impossible to link a particulate weather event to global warming. Even the IPCC says so.
The Earth is warming because of humans adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. There are some proven, measurable effects, e.g., sea level rise, ocean pH, glacier melt, Arctic ice loss and on and on.
Actually J, you’ve claimed in the past that only CO2 is the reason for our greenhouse effect and only man has caused the presence of CO2.
Her first sentence is fantasy even based upon your statement that there can’t be a linkage between storms and a changing climate.
Also, any storm, ANY size storm is made worse from a rising sea, whether that sea is risen due to tides, warming waters, or added water from melting ice. The fact that the storm hit on a high tide is obviously too much data to comprehend for you CAGWers.
And, we’ve had most of our worst hurricanes and typhoons before the current warming trend that has all of your Socialists in a tizzy. So, the cause can’t be linked to rising ocean temps.
“unusual weather patterns“: yeah, what is that exactly? if you can’t identify it, then you can’t label it, and thus you can’t attribute it to anything. Most people before today’s tizzies just called them “weird” and moved on. or, they looked in the record books and said, “oh, this is kinda rare, but has happened before.”.. and then moved on.
But you ninnies love throwing tizzies because you think the gov’t should control storms like you want them to control the population.
Balls of fury,
I give up. You win. You take dumbassery to hoftian levels.
Since you claim that higher ocean levels make storms worse, and that global warming is causing sea levels to rise, doesn’t it follow that global warming is making storms worse?
Yet, I didn’t.
Yes, and apples create cows from yogurt.
How in the world did you get from the first part to the second?? There is not linkage.
First, there has to be sea rise. Second, there has to be global warming at the extent you claim.
There isn’t. And, there isn’t.