Tropical Storm Harvey made landfall again on Wednesday, this time battering the Louisiana coast, while south Asia and western Africa also experience major flooding as well.
If we had a sane media, thousands of people would now be interviewed on camera about how they feel about global warming. We would be spreading the word that we all are in peril of unexpected and unprecedented changes to the climate.
To view the destruction of these floods and yet not discuss the changes being brought about by global warming is literally insane!
The floods in India are not just across the northeastern regions.
Mumbai, the financial capital of India, on the west coast and further south, is under water too.
Looks a lot like Houston.
The effect of global warming on this particular storm is not clear but it has been documented that extreme precipitation events (1-4 inches of rain) have increased by about 80% over the last several decades in the northeast. So far the northeast has been affected by climate change with regard to rain and temperature more than any other part of the country. Extremely large amounts of rain are not that uncommon in Texas. The previous continental record of 48 inches of rain was set in Texas. In the long run probably what Texas has to be most concerned about is heat. The same goes for all the states from Texas to Georgia. With typically high humidity, a further increase in global warming of a few degrees Celsius could drive up the heat index to levels that humans cannot tolerate.
Trump also just cut back flood relief insurance coverage. As of tomorrow Sept. 1, due to Trump, itâll be much more difficult to receive compensation for flood damage. Good timing, perfect optics as this new ruling perfectly illustrates Trumpâs innate vapidity, cruelty and self centered arrogance.
Iâm sure that is planned. The reporter from Al Jazeera was cut off this morning just as he was about to connect some of the dots between the incredible wealth extracted from the Port Arthur area and the lack of adequate investments to prepare for such a man-made catastrophe that is unfolding there.
Texas politicians and county, regional and state officials are culpable, here. And, so is the Oiligarchy.
The people who die, the people who are hurt are going to be devastated, but the " sacrifice zones " are expanding exponentially, as well.
The saying, Enough is enough, doesnât really do this tragedy justice.
Very glad to see world coverage of the flooding here on Common Dreams at last !
Thanks to 350 dot org - thanks to James Hansen - 350 is his number !!
Here in Calgary we have âUnhealthyâ smoke, from wildfires to the west. This has been going on for a month now. The Sun and Moon are blood red near the horizon, particlate matter 2.5 micron was at 197 when I left home a few minutes ago.
The last time the smoke was bad, but not as bad as this, was a couple/three years ago.
But I think at long last we are waking up.
Just listened to NPR where everyone, including the host, agreed that there was no direct connection between Harvey and climate change. Of course there is! Liberals especially in the media need to quit pandering to the deniers and call them out on it.
New York magazine in its August issue put out the long-range forecast. IF things continue as if nothing is wrong, they forecast that human civilization might start to collapse about 70 years from now, especially from lack of food. (âHuman Civilization has already collapsed?â I heard that!)
In reality this boiling frog thing can only go so far. Some people might make frogs look modestly intelligent but thatâs not all of us. The world was faced with rapidly expanding holes in the ozone layer 30 years ago, so almost all of the world signed a treaty banning CFCs. 85% of the CFCs up there are still up there, it will take about 200 years for the remaining CFCs to dissipate properly, but the holes in the ozone layer stopped growing and have started shrinking.
We need the following R&D:
Effective carbon sequestration, along with disassembly of volatile greenhouse gases such as methane and NOx.
Protection/restoration of the Arctic Oceanâs ice pack and the natural snow albedo on tundra lands.
Renewables for the following huge jobs:
âfull heating and a/c for buildings. Firewood is problematic!
âall sorts of transit
âstorage of heat/electricity for electric power at night
We need people to get off their froggies and lobby every university, every greenwashing megacorp and every regional/state governent for all of these things. Also, please pull a dead fish out of somebodyâs living room in Houston and then toss it at your favorite philanthropic organization. They all are such a chorus line of deadbeats when it comes to saving everybodyâs kids from an early death.
One wonders at the futility of our civilization where intelligent people can ignore both scientific logic and observational common sense by hiding behind technicalities. Yes technically it canât be proven that the occurance of this storm is directly linked to climate change but just the same science also proves out the steps in a cause and effect progression of worsening conditions that would result in storms of such magnitude. The ocean water is warmer - that is due to climate change and it results in storms containing more water (rainfall) than normal. The media avoids stating the scientific progression of worsening steps as if they also couldnât be proven but that is false. Warmer waters will produce larger storms which hold greater amounts of rainfall. That is scientific fact!
So no they canât prove this storm is linked to climate change but the amount of rainfall is. In this way they deceive us and themselves by purposefully dumbing down their audience with simplicity instead of science. And then like with NPR they will follow this with an âintellectualâ essay piece about how Americans will fry Twinkies despite their being warned about how unhealthy it is to eat that way!
My progressive friends will scream at this, but here goes. Just as we cannot give Trump credit for the job creation numbers since it is only 8 months since his puny little coronation by his puny minded friends, we cannot blame Harvey or other events on him, yet. Harvey and other coming events in the near future are the result of lousy and ignorant policy makers of the past - think Ronald reagan taking down the solar panels that jimmy Carter put on the white House in 1979; Bush / Cheney and their oil pals, and all the James Inhoff of the world. Morons and crooks who should be in pin stripes and behind bars. Just imagine - the effects of Trumpâs insane policies (letâs give Scott Pruitt some credit here also) will not be felt for years. We can only hope that ALL future American leaders will have enough brains and a decent soul to immediately reverse Trumps ignorant and criminal behavior and accelerate the wise policies our children will need in their lives. Make America Free, At Last.
Iâm seeing this more and more, myself included, even among those with the wisdom and foresight to know better: Humans, as a species, seem unable to, collectively, take meaningful action in the face of immanent danger unless the individualsâ comfort or safety is directly threatened. By the time thatâs true for enough of us, concerning climate change, given itâs spotty hit-and-miss effects, the point of no return may be long gone. I pray not.
At any point did they state what would qualify as a direct connection? This is so beyond ludicrous.
As if that wasnât bad enough Trumpâs next effort at nation destroying will take the form of massive corporate tax cuts. Right at the moment when the nation needs these slackers to chip in.
