Meanwhile, A
massive tropical cyclone, after bringing death & destruction to many parts
of the Caribbean, has brought a record-breaking storm surge to New York City,
with numerous streets and tunnels flooded in Lower Manhattan and
other areas of the city. 50 Americans are dead & millions are without
power.
An American preacher,
John McTernan has claimed that Hurricane Sandy is God's way of punishing
America for Obama & Romney being 'pro-homosexual' as well as Obama being in
favour of the Muslim Brotherhood 'which has vowed to destroy Israel'. (http://www.ibtimes.com/hurricane-sandy-caused-homosexuals-president-obama-evangelist-preacher-john-mcternan-says-8559330
Now I don't believe in
any God, be it Yahweh, Allah, Zeus or Krishna, I instead turn to science to
explain where we came from (evolution) & also for why extreme climate
events occur. And I believe that this 'Frankinstorm' is due in part to climate
change.
Of course
extreme weather events have happened long before man started burning fossil
fuels & therefore warming the planet by 0.8°C since the
industrial revolution, (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/decadaltemp.php) but
scientists tell us that they will be made worse due to climate change. This is
because as the Earth warms, the oceans warm & warmer oceans create stronger
hurricanes. (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22382-tidal-records-expose-surge-in-hurricanes.html)
The
IPCC has reported that it was “likely” that tropical cyclones would get
stronger, with faster winds and heavier rainfall, as the world warms. (http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch10s10-es-13-tropical-cyclones.html)
This was also a year of record breaking temperatures in the US, record drought conditions in the country's corn belt. Drought is another example of an extreme weather event that climate change makes worse. So whilst the threat of climate change may seem distant to even those that believe in it, that is far from true- the truth it is it is negatively affecting the US economy & therefore the people now.
My hopes go out to the
people of New York, & other affected areas that Hurricane Sandy leaves in
his wake. David Attenborough mentioned this week that "It would take a terrible example of extreme
weather to wake people up to the dangers of global warming ." I hope too that if some good can come of this it will be that
Obama, Romney & politicians in the US will start to have a serious debate
about climate change- accept the fact that combating global warming now will
ensure we do not leave the world in a far worse place than when we arrived in
it. To paraphrase George H G Bush, "it's time for the White House Effect
to stop the Greenhouse Effect."
If you wish to read
more about this subject, here are some good links:
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