Wednesday 31 October 2012

Was Hurricane Sandy Due To Climate Change?

As New York mops up after Hurricane Sandy, the most obvious question to be asked is 'Was Hurricane Sandy due to climate change?'
I would say, of course it was, what an ignorant question, while people who don't share my view on Climate Change would say that October hurricanes in the Atlantic are not unusual and dismiss it.
The undeniable facts are that the warmer the air, the more moisture it holds and that means more precipitation ready to fall out the sky in the form of rain and snow as Greg Holland of the National Centre for Atmospheric Research explains: 'I have no equivocation in saying that all heavy rainfall events, including this one,have an element of climate change in them, and the level of that contribution will increase in the future.'
Then there are the warmer seas and it is the higher sea temperatures that give the hurricanes their energy and act as the engine for the storms, giving them the boost they need to grow bigger and stronger.
So was climate change to blame? We won't know that if the oceans were not so hot and the atmosphere was not so warm as to hold quite so much moisture if Sandy would have been so big, destructive and powerful but it should serve as a dire warning.
As the climate continues to warm up, the oceans WILL get hotter, the atmosphere WILL contain more precipitation and as the sea levels rise the storm surges WILL increase more widespread flooding.
Although we can't point at Sandy and state categorically that it was a result of climate change (although it strongly hints at it), i would love to hear an explanation that states it categorically wasn't.
Sadly, i don't think Sandy was destructive enough to alter the climate change deniers minds, it's going to take larger damage and a higher death toll for that to happen and that's a frightening thought because unless something is done quickly, the scenes we saw over the last few days will become the norm.

9 comments:

david g said...

Lucy, you've got to keep in mind that most Americans are brain-dead or so heavily indoctrinated that the result is the same.

After this event, money should be spent on improving flood infrastructure but instead it will be funneled into growing the Armed Forces as the U.S. goes about its mission to dominate the whole world.

America is tied to war. It needs war to keep its industries going and to appease its psychotic need to kill and destroy.

The world can only hope that China pulls the plug on the U.S. and calls in the debts.

That would destroy the Evil Empire without a shot being fired!

Nog said...

There's more to the world's problems than America, China, and global warming.

Anonymous said...

yeah lucy,

you must be right. you too DG. in fact, i think we caused global warming with the iraqi wars... and all the pollution and manufacturing in china has nothing to do with global warming at all - nuuuuuuuuuuthing to do with it...

q

david g said...

Don't worry about global warming, Q.

Whichever dickhead becomes the President, America will soon lead us into WW3 and pioneer the use of nukes.

The U.S. will have the dubious distinction of causing the extinction of mankind.

An exceptional people, an exceptional nation, eh?

So they claim!

Lucy said...

'i think we caused global warming with the iraqi wars and all the pollution and manufacturing in china has nothing to do with global warming at all - nuuuuuuuuuuthing to do with it...'

Care to point to one sentence in the post where i said America or anyone else was to blame for global warming?

Anonymous said...

lucy, mostly i was making fun of the concept that this hurricane would have not occured or would have been lesser without the alleged global warming.

there was nothing unique about this hurricane except that it made land fall in the perfect spot to do harm, and the press talked about it a lot more. also the people of new jersey and new york were woefully unprepared even with 7 days notice. i'm kinda shocked after what happened on 9/11.

DG, i think you are correct about the president. whoever is in charge is gonna blast iran one way or another. but, the usa is not capable of wiping out the species. without doubt we would need the cooperation of the UK, france, germany, japan, china, india, russia, and brazil to do such a thing. of course, they are quite capable of such a thing...

q

Lucy said...

I tried to stay in the grey area where i didn't scream 'YES, IT WAS BECAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING' as not enough proof. I wanted to merely put out there that the effects of global warming mean that the conditions are becoming more suitable for events such as Sandy.
Whether Sandy would happened or if it had been so devastating without warmer seas, higher seas and more moisture in the air we won't ever know but of course i will say no and you will say yes. I do have the National Centre for Atmospheric Research standing beside me when i speak though. You have Sarah Palin.

Anonymous said...

yeah and i have the guy that invented hurricane prediction and i have a phd from Harvard, and a phd from MIT, or and the big study reversal from the people that started all the hub bub... and you have al gore.

q

Lucy said...

yeah, well, i have a GCSE in woodwork (i made a box)...and you have Donald Trump and Buzz Aldrin but i think Buzz just turned up to look down Sarah Palin's top so you cant count him.