Arguments
2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #39
Posted on 30 September 2017 by John Hartz
Editor's Pick
People Are Dying’: Puerto Rico Faces Daunting Humanitarian Crisis
As the full scope of Hurricane Maria's devastation emerges, leaders are calling for urgent help. Many of the risks were spelled out in a 2013 climate assessment.
Hurricane Maria swept mud and debris down streets and into homes across the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, home to 3.4 million people, about 44 percent of whom live below the poverty line. Credit: Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images
A public health crisis is unfolding in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, as millions of people face a frightening array of urgent dangers, some of which may drag on for weeks or months.
Nearly one week after the storm hit, federal emergency response personnel struggled to make contact with remote communities and restore critical medical infrastructure.
As of Monday, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), already stretched thin by continuing recovery efforts from Hurricanes Harvey in Texas and Irma in Florida, had yet to reach six communities in Puerto Rico and was just sending its first shipment of water to the remote islands of Vieques and Culebra.
"We are in response mode, and our main priority is saving lives, getting generators to the hospitals, and making sure that there is enough fuel for those generators to run," FEMA spokesperson Jose Davila said.
"It is very bad down there right now," said Sven Rodenbeck, chief science officer for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2017 hurricane response. "For the vast majority of the island, there is no power. They have had flooding, and the health care system—many of the clinics and hospitals are closed. A lot of the drinking water systems are not operational, along with the waste water systems."
Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, gave a blunt assessment of the situation.
"People are dying," Cruz told CBS news on Tuesday. "This is the reality that we live in, the crude aftermath of a storm, a hurricane that has left us practically paralyzed."
‘People Are Dying’: Puerto Rico Faces Daunting Humanitarian Crisis by Phil Mckenna, Inside Climate News, Sep 27, 2017
Links posted on Facebook
Sun Sep 24, 2017
- The Climate Swerve: Reflections on Mind, Hope and Survival with Robert Jay Lifton and Bill Moyers, Moyers & Company, Sep 21, 2017
- Simulating The Bodily Pain Of Future Climate Change, Opinion by Lisa Feldman Barrett, NPR News, Sep 23, 2017
- Climate deniers want to protect the status quo that made them rich by John Gibbons, Guardian, Sep 22, 2017
- Silent killer: Sweltering planet braces for deadly heat shocks by Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Sep 19, 2017
- Solar Panel Tariff Threat: 8 Questions Homeowners Are Asking by Marianne LaVelle, InsideClimate News, Sep 22, 2017
- Global warming presents a clear and present danger to America's national security, world stability by Alice Hall, Houston Chronicle, Sep 23, 2017
- “Eden Is Broken”: A Caribbean Leader Calls for Action on Climate Change by Natalie Meade, New Yorker, Sep 24, 2017
- Cities Cracking Down on Climate Law-Breakers by Courtney Humphries, InsideClimate News, Sep 22, 2017
Mon Sep 25, 2017
- Category 5 hurricanes have hit 6 land areas dead-on in 2017, more than ever before by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Sep 22, 2017
- The Weird Way That Climate Change Could Make Earthquakes Worse by Kristin Hugo, Newsweek, Sep 24, 2017
- Extreme weather to cost UK billions and leave 2.5m homes at risk of flooding unless ministers take action, warns WWF by Ian Johnston, Independent, Sep 25, 2017
- Puerto Rico’s Agriculture and Farmers Decimated by Maria by Frances Robles & Luis Ferré-Sadurní, New York Times, Sep 24, 2017
- The Mail's censure shows which media outlets are biased on climate change by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Sep 25, 2017
- At 2017 minimum, scientists ask: Is Arctic entering the Thin Ice Age? by Gloria Dickie, Mongabay, Sep 25,2017
- Hot, isolated, and running out of supplies, parts of Puerto Rico near desperation by Samantha Schmidt & Joel Achenbach, Washington Post, Sep 24, 2017
Tue Sep 26, 2017
- Kerala trains local leaders on climate change by S. Gopikrishna Warrier, India Climate Dialogue, Sep 25, 2017
- Here's How a Borderline La Niña Could Impact the Rest of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season by Jonathan Erdman, The Weather Channel, Sep 25, 2017
- Trump Is Ignoring Puerto Rico’s Suffering by Phillip Carter, Slate, Sep 25, 2017
- Battered Puerto Rico hospitals on life support after Hurricane Maria by Robin Respaut & Dave Graham, Reuters, Sep 24, 2017
- Anger at EU climate chief’s suggestion US can backtrack on Paris by Arthur Neslen, Climate Home, Sep 25, 2017
- Trump's lack of empathy about Puerto Rico is staggering, Opinion by Paul A Reyes, CNN, Sep 26. 2017
- In Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, 2017 has been anything but normal by Michael Kruk, NOAA's Climate.gov, Sep 26, 2017
- What would an entirely flood-proof city look like? by Sophie Knight, Guardian, Sep 25, 2017
Wed Sep 27, 2017
- Vanishing Antarctic Snowflakes May Alter Sea Level Rise by Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, Sep 26, 2017
- What Happens When a Superstorm Hits D.C.? by Justin Nobel, Rolling Stone, Sep 21, 2017
- How Puerto Rico Is Becoming Trump's Katrina by Tim Dickenson, Rolling Stone, Sep 26, 2017
- Climate change made Lucifer heatwave far more likely, scientists find by Damien Carrington, Guardian, Sep 27, 2017
- Right-wing media could not be more wrong about the 1.5°C carbon budget paper by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Sep 27, 2017
- One in five Australians believe global warming is a hoax by Felicity Caldwell, Sydney Morning Herald, Sep 27, 2017
- Exxon Aims to Cut Methane Leaks, a Culprit in Global Warming by Clifford Krause, Energy & Environment, New York Times, Sep 25, 2017
- What every American needs to know about Puerto Rico’s hurricane disaster by Brian Resnick & Eliza Barclay, Science & Health, Vox, Sep 27, 2017
Thu Sep 28, 2017
- Warm waters tripled the amount of ice lost in these Antarctic glaciers — and that's bad for sea level rise by Alessandra Potenza, The Verge, Sep 26, 2017
- Do more to help poor nations cope with climate change, IMF tells rich countries by Larry Elliott, Guardian, Sep 27, 2017
- Washington state deals blow to plan for coal export terminal by Rachel La Corte, AP, Sep 26, 2017
- Global carbon emissions stood still in 2016, offering climate hope by Damian Carrington, Guardian, Sep 28, 2017
- Late-September heat wave leaves climate experts stunned by Joe Romm, Think Progress, Sep 27, 2017
- A key Antarctic glacier just lost a huge piece of ice — the latest sign of its worrying retreat by Chris Mooney, Energy & Envronment, Washington Post, Sep 25, 2017
- Maria and Lee are weakening and heading east. What’s next for this hurricane season? by Brian McNoldy, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Sep 28, 2017
- Tropical forests used to protect us from climate change. A new study says they’re now making it worse. by Chris Mooney, Mooney, Energy & Envronment, Washington Post, Sep 28, 2017
Fri Sep 29, 2017
- Hidden Costs of Climate Change Running Hundreds of Billions a Year by Stephen Leahy, National Geographic, Sep 27, 2017
- Climate and energy are becoming focal points in state political races by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Sep 28, 2017
- Puerto Ricans Could Be Newest U.S. Climate Refugees by Daniel Cusick Adam Aton, Climate Wire/Scientific American, Sep 28, 2017
- One of the clearest signs of climate change in Hurricanes Maria, Irma, and Harvey was the rain by Umair Irfan, Vox, Sep 28, 2017
- Global Warming Tort Litigation: Two Very Different Approaches by David Bookbinder, Niskanen Center, Sep 28, 2017
- Analysis: What does revised methane data mean for the Paris Agreement? by Daisy Dunne, InsideCarbon News, Sep 29, 2017
- Rick Perry proposes sweeping new steps to support coal and nuclear plants by
- Pruitt Plans to Gut The Clean Power Plan: How Weak Will The New EPA Proposal Be? by Rachel Cleetus, Union of Concerned Scientists, Sep 29, 2017
Sat Sep 30, 2017
- Diesel cars help drive Australia's energy emissions to highest level, report shows by Nicole Hasham, The Age, Sep 29, 2017
- 'Stuck in the dark ages': Pacific Island leader vents after Australia's emissions hit record high by Nicole Ashman, Sydney Morning Herald, Sep 29, 2017
- Pascal’s Wager And Global Climate Change: Hedging Your Bet When the Cost of Error is Too High by Eric K Clemons, HuffPost, Sep 25, 2017
- September is the most energetic month for hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic by Matthew Cappucci, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Sep 27, 2017
- ‘People Are Dying’: Puerto Rico Faces Daunting Humanitarian Crisis by Phil Mckenna, Inside Climate News, Sep 27, 2017
- The McKibben effect: a case study in how radical environmentalism can work by David Roberts, Energy & Enviornment, Vox, Sep 29, 2017
- New research, September 18-24, 2017 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Sep 30, 2017
- Climate change burden unfairly borne by world's poorest countries by Stuart Braun, Deutsche Welle (DW), Sep 28, 2017
This disaster is very grim for Peurto Rico, and possibly a sign of worse things to come as climate changes. If IPCC climate predictions prove correct and hurricanes become more intense and eventually more numerous, the impacts will be very significant. Some of the IPCC projections for increased hurricane intensity are quite large, depending somewhat on geographical location. Increasing quantities of gdp will go into hurricane repairs as opposed to increasing basic quality of life.
Some vulnerable areas will possibly never fully recover before the next big one hits. It took 10 years to clean up and repair things after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and the cost was 100 billion dollars. No wonder small island nations already stay poor.
This sort of scenario can only become more common as climate continues to change because the type of change has mostly negative consequences for weather systems. Theres very little upside when more heat energy and moisture goes into weather systems.
Economies are adapted over decades and centuries to stability of environment or at least known regular cyclical problems of roughly equal intensity. This stability has been useful in improvement in human economies, and we have seen tremendous progess in many areas, despite the inevitable problems as well. Our modern economy since the end of the last ice age has never actually faced a period where weather gets progressively worse almost everywhere over decadal time frames, so its uncharted territory to fully quantify.
In the midst of all this tragedy, could you not wait?
[JH] Sloganeering snipped.
Norris are you talking to me or the writer of the article?
The disaster is already about a week ago, so plenty of respect has been shown.
However I think we should talk about causes, problems and solutions pretty immediately, while things are fresh in peoples minds, and I think this what the inhabitants would appreciate most. Theres nothing to be gained from what, having a months silence, crying in our beer? What is it you want, apart from trying to make people feel guilty?
NorrisM @2 :
< "In the midst of all this tragedy, could you not wait?" >
NorrisM, when you are beset by alligators, is also the time you should be draining the swamp.
Houses can be dried out and mould prevented by using solar air heaters - see http://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/PopCanVsScreen/PopCanVsScreen.htm on how to build your own solar air heater. I wonder if water aerators could help improve hygine in some inundated areas.
www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-30/no-trump-didn-t-botch-the-puerto-rico-crisis
Article on the relief for puerto rico -
nigelj
The writer of the article. By the way, lawyers in the same position are called "ambulance chasers" (When I practiced law I was a business lawyer)
I think a couple of months from now would have been more appropriate to engage in this discussion.
On another somewhat related point, I have been reading the comments on Judith Curry. Is this all because of some interview I understand she had with Fox News? I am a little disappointed with her even appearing on that "news" source.
But I can tell you at one point when I was watching CNN and CBS etc covering Hurricane Irma when it was in the Caribbean, all of the predictions for the path of Irma at that time were up the east coast of Florida. I just happened to go on the Curry blog for other reasons (although I sometimes look at GWPF, I only regularly follow two blogs, one on each side).
At that time, when all the other predictions had the storm heading to Miami, Judith Curry's prediction that day showed the hurricane heading for the west coast of Florida.
It took another day before CNN was modifying its predictions. Perhaps there were others and this was just an example of news sources looking for the dramatic but it was both CNN and CBS.
So if one oil and gas company retains Judith Curry to predict hurricane paths I have no problem with that. People do have a right to earn a living while promoting their causes. I think her oil and gas interests are immaterial to the issues and have been fully disclosed. You cannot bar every person from this debate if they have had some present or past relationship with the fossil fuel industry. On that basis, everyone should disclose any advice (and compensation they receive) to any organization promoting the dangers of climate change.
PS One time I took a look at a YouTube video of the President of the Heartland Institute. That was all I needed to stay clear of that site.
[JH] Snipped statement in violation of the following section of the SkS Comments Policy.
NorrisM @7
We should discuss problems when they are current and fresh in peoples minds. We will be no use to anyone otherwise. Alligators and swamps.
I can't recall what really started the conversation on Curry. The concern is with the way she makes vague, often petty, and frankly silly statements that feed the denial machine, and are jumped on by politicians eager to downplay climate change, as people discussed in depth, with quotes from her writings. You should read the quotes and study them.
She may have got some hurricane prediction right by chance or skill. I'm not doubting her basic qualifications, just interested in why she has become a climate denialist, and why she makes the most incredibly obtuse, open ended and frustratingly vague and factually incorrect or incomplete statements. If that impresses you and rocks your world, I suppose you should read her "blog".
If she is paid by oil and gas companies it doesnt matter for what reason, there will be a perception of bias at the very least. If she wants to be taken seriously she might consider that.
Good to see you staying away form the Heartland Institute. Possibly avoid the more extreme environmental websites as well. Go straight down the middle with the IPCC. Their science is more than worrying enough.
Swayseeker @5, not a bad idea, except there do not appear to be many houses left standing.
Moderator
I do not think I broke the above rule. Issues of what is right and wrong get lobbed at "deniers on this website daily. See for example criticisms of Curry. I was dealing with a moral issue of taking advantage of a very tragic situation while it is ongoing.
[JH] Moderation complaint snipped.
NorrisM @10, nobody was accusing Curry of personal dishonesty or fraud, or ambulance chasing or other forms of immorality. Just of bad science and being vague and confusing.
Suggested supplemental reading re the situation in Puerto Rico:
After first tour of Puerto Rico, top general calls damage ‘the worst he’s ever seen’ by Jenny Marder, PBS News Hour, Sep 30, 2017