Arguments
2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36
Posted on 9 September 2017 by John Hartz
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week.
Editor's Pick
6 Questions on Hurricane Irma, Harvey and Climate Change
Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, barrels toward the Florida coast on Sept. 7, 2017. Credit: NOAA GOES Project via Getty Images
A third of the way into the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA looked at the ocean and air temperatures and issued an ominous new forecast: the region would likely experience "an above normal hurricane season" that "could be extremely active," with more named storms than previously expected—14 to 19 this season—and two to five major hurricanes.
Now, halfway through the season, Hurricane Harvey's destruction stretches along the Texas coast, and Hurricane Irma looks likely to make landfall in Florida after causing mass destruction in the Caribbean. Just a few days behind Irma, Hurricane Jose appears to be following the same deadly path, while Hurricane Katia churns off Mexico's eastern coast.
As global temperatures continue to rise, climate scientists have said this is what we should expect—more huge storms, with drastic impacts.
Though scientists are still wrestling with some of the specifics of how climate change is impacting hurricanes, a lot is known, including the fact that hurricane seasons like this one could be the new norm.
6 Questions About Hurricane Irma, Harvey and Climate Change by Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News, Sep 6, 2017
Links posted on Facebook
Sun Sep 3, 2017
- Tony Abbott to address London climate sceptic group by Karl Mathiesen, Climate Home, Sep 1, 2017
- Climate change ‘could double’ the number of droughts in Jordan by 2100 by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Aug 30, 2017
- We Don’t Deny Harvey, So Why Deny Climate Change?, Opinion by Nicholas Kristof, Sunday Review, New York Times, Sep 2, 2017
- The Strange Future Hurricane Harvey Portends by Peter Brannen, The Atlantic, Aug 31, 2017
- Heat, Smoke, and Fire Assault Western States: All-Time Record Heat in California by Bob Henson, Category 6, Weather Underground, Sep 3, 2017
- Worst floods to hit South Asia in decade expose lack of monsoon planning by Rupam Jain & Tommy Wilkes, Reuters, Sep 1, 2017
- What Hurricane Harvey says about risk, climate and resilience by Andrew Dressler, Daniel Cohan & Katharine Hayhoe. The Conversation US, Sep 1, 2017
- Australia has hottest winter on record as climate change drives long-term warming trend by Fiona Keating, The Independent, Sep 2, 2017
Mon Sep 4, 2017
- How the Greenland ice sheet fared in 2017, Guest Post by Ruth Mottram, Peter Langen & Martin Stendel, Carbon Brief, Sep 1, 2017
- NASA scientists seek to improve sea ice predictions by Maria-José Viñas, NASA's Global Climate Change, Aug 30, 2017
- Hurricane Irma a Growing Concern For the United States; Potential Serious Threat to Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Bahamas and Cuba, The Weather Channel, Sep 4, 2017
- Wildfires across US West force thousands to flee their homes by Christopher Weber & Ellen Knickmeyer, AP/ABC News, Sep 4, 2017
- Insurance industry prices warming into Hurricane Harvey cost by Fiona Harvey & Jonathan Watts, Guardian, Sep 1, 2017
- It's Not Going To Be All Right’ by Annie Snider, Politico Magazine, Sep 1, 2017
- Threat Increasing for Cuba, Florida from Intensifying Irma by Bob Henson, Category 6, Weather Underground, Sep 4, 2017
- Smoke forces Crystal Mountain to close as fires rage in Central Washington, Oregon and British Columbia by Christine Clarridge, Seattle Times, Sep 3, 2017
Tue Sep 5, 2017
- Climate change increasing the intensity and impact of extreme weather, BOM tells emergency managers by Ben Deacon & Kate Doyle, ABC News, Sep 4, 2017
- California’s past and coming superstorm: Flooding that will make Harvey a dim memory by Paul Rosenberg, Salon, Sep 3, 2017
- Three things we just learned about climate change and big storms: Can the lessons of Harvey save us? by Paul Rosenberg, Salon, Sep 4, 2017
- Denying Hurricane Harvey’s climate links only worsens future suffering by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Sep 5, 2017
- Irma, Harvey reveal ‘massive national security risks’, Commentary by Sherri Goodman, CNBC. Sep 5, 2017
- Harvey and climate change: why it won't change minds by Amy Harder, Axios, Sep 5, 2017
- Category 5 Irma the 5th Strongest Atlantic Hurricane on Record by Jeff Masters, Category 6, Weather Underground, Sep 4, 2017
- Hurricane Harvey's aftermath could see pioneering climate lawsuits, Analysis by Sebastien Malo, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Sep 5, 2017
Wed Sep 6, 2017
- On Climate, Hurricanes, And Growth by Joseph Majkut, Niskanen Center, Aug 31, 2017
- Hurricane Harvey is a billion-dollar disaster – America's 10th in 2017 by Joanna Walters, Guardian, Sep 1, 2017
- EPA now requires political aide’s sign-off for agency awards, grant applications by Juliet Eilperin, Politics, Washington Post, Sep 4, 2017
- A two-decade crusade by conservative charities fueled Trump’s exit from Paris climate accord by Robert O'Harrow Jr, Investigations. Washington Post, Sep 5, 2017
- First Harvey, now Irma. Why are so many hurricanes hitting the U.S.? by Nisikan Akpan, PBS News Hour, Sep 6, 2017
- Potent Mix of Record Heat and Dryness Fuels Wildfires Across the West by Georgina Gustin, InsideClimate News, Sep 5, 2017
- How do hurricanes form? A step-by-step guide. by Brad Plumer & Ruairí Arrieta-Kenna, Science & Health, Vox, Sep 6, 2017
- Tropical Storm Katia Has Formed Near Tampico, Mexico; Heavy Rain Threat for Eastern Mexico by Jonathan Belles, Weather Underground, Sep 6, 2017
Thu Sep 7, 2017
- Melting permafrost in the Arctic is unlocking diseases and warping the landscape by Brian Resnick, Energy & Environment, Vox, Sep 6, 2017
- Twin megastorms have scientists fearing this may be the new normal by Jonathan Watts, Guardian, Sep 6, 2017
- Hurricane Irma makes landfall in Caribbean with Florida at center of projected path by Carli Teproff And Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, Sep 7, 2017
- Mars counters Trump's climate stance wcvith $1bn sustainability plan, Press Association/Guardian, Sep 6, 2017
- Climate change could drive a third of parasites to extinction by 2070 by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Sep 6, 2017
- The science behind the U.S.’s strange hurricane ‘drought’ — and its sudden end by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Sep 7, 2017
- Climate Change Denial Should Be A Crime by Brian Merchant, The Outline, Sep 1, 2017
- Hurricane Irma is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes ever: what we know by Brian Resnick, Science & Health, Vox, Sep 7, 2017
Fri Sep 9, 2017
- Europe, New Border of Africa’s ‘Great Desert’ – The Sahara by Baher Kamal, Inter Press Service (IPS), Sep 5, 2017
- Thousands hit by malaria, dengue as S.Asia's worst floods in a decade recede by Mohi Narayan, Reuters, Sep 6, 2017
- 6 Questions About Hurricane Irma, Harvey and Climate Change by Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News, Sep 6, 2017
- President Trump, hurricanes Harvey and Irma are sending you a message, Opinion by Andrés Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, Sep 7, 2017
- The unprecedented drought that's crippling Montana and North Dakota by Kathleen McLaughlin, Guardian, Sep 7, 2017
- Wildfires ravaging the Western U.S. as smoke sprawls across the nation by John Hopewell, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Sep 6, 2017
- Tropical triple threat: Hurricanes Jose and Katia could join Irma striking land this weekend by
- What We Know about the Climate Change–Hurricane Connection by Michael E. Mann, Thomas C. Peterson & Susan Joy Hassol, Scientific American, Sep 8, 2017
Sat Sep 10, 2017
- India to move 15 flood-prone villages to higher ground to mitigate impact by Rina Chandran, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Sep 8, 2017
- As Hurricanes Irma and Harvey Slam the U.S., Climate Deniers Remain Steadfast by Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, Sep 8, 2017
- Ask the Experts: How Did 2 Such Powerful Hurricanes Occur Back to Back? by Annie Sneed, Scientific American, Sep 7, 2017
- It Doesn’t Matter if Climate Change Caused Irma and Harvey by Susan Matthews, Slate, Sep 8, 2017
- Has the UN Climate Assessment Process Become Obsolete? by Peter Fairly, InsideClimate News, Sep 8, 2017
- Deploying the science of extreme weather attribution in the courts, Guest Post by Sophie Marjanac & Lindene Patton, Carbon Brief, Sep 8, 2017
- As hurricanes and wildfires rage, US climate politics enters the realm of farce by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Sep 8, 2017
- Apocalyptic Thoughts Amid Nature’s Chaos? You Could Be Forgiven by Henry Fountain, New York times, Sep 8, 2017
The "6 questions on hurricanes irma etc" link doesn't work. I tracked down the article using google as below.
insideclimatenews.org/news/06092017/hurricane-irma-harvey-climate-change-warm-atlantic-ocean-questions
[JH] Link fixed. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
David Roberts, at Vox, always has very thoughtful articles, and his "As hurricanes and wildfires rage, US climate politics enters the realm of farce" continues that trend. Here he notes what is now a profound 'tribal epistomology' that surrounds American conservatives and insulates them from the conclusions of climate science, among other fact-based conclusions about the world we inhabit. Some years ago, I became alarmed to find a website called 'Conservapedia', i.e. Wikipedia for Conservatives, which attempts to explain everything Wikipedia explains in a manner consistent with conservative principles. Check out its main page, and the second most-viewed entry is on 'The Second Law of Thermodynamics', which as you might expect, ends up supporting the idea of intelligent design.
Roberts: "I look forward to the glorious day when our confidence in the basics of climate science finally makes it from 97 percent to 100 percent. But I think we have reached a point where we can say conclusively that the substantive scientific case for climate change is not going to pierce the conservative bubble, no matter how sharp the spear.
Hurricanes are battering our shores, the West is on fire, that poor 2 percent of remaining scientific skeptics has been refuted, and here’s Rush Limbaugh, telling people in Miami not to believe meteorologists...
conservatives will tend to believe on climate change whatever people on Fox (or talk radio) tell them about climate change.
It is conservative elites, and only conservative elites, who have the power to end this surreal farce. Judging from Rush Limbaugh’s take on hurricanes, they do not yet feel any pressure to do so."