Hmn... I wonder if all of our floods lately are related to climate change? You know, there was an interesting statistic in the Gore movie (which you should go see if you haven't) that talks about the fact that in a sample of 1000 peer reviewed papers, 0 of them denied that climate change is real and that we have caused it. It then says that of a sample of news reports over the past few years, 55% of them gave rise to doubt that climate change is real. Disenfranchise folks.
So, I don't have the tools or the time to do a survey today, but from what I saw on our local news yesterday and what I've seen in the papers today, there was not one mention of the possible reason for the increased rains we've been having. In the Inky article I linked to above there is this quote : "Meteorologists described the spell of rain that began last Thursday as a remarkable one.".
Obviously in my mind there should be at least an attempt to get some scientist to tell us why the rains are occurring and what the possible connecting causes could be. But of course there was none. Perhaps we could feel like weather patterns are more science like if we started calling weather forecasters by some other title instead of "meteorologist". Think about that name for a minute.. does it really make you think of a trained professional? Or does it make you think of a fortune teller? The name is from the middle ages and it's just embarrassing that we still use it.
Point is, climate change is real and it's behind all of this and we are taking way to long to make the connection in our minds. We have to wake up and smell the coffee before we're all living in it.
1 comment:
There are plenty of articles out there that associate the human effect on the environment with the natural disasters that are plaguing us lately. Many of our world's scientists are looking into the effects of our practices and seeking out plausible solutions. You can read one such article that outlines the relationship between weather and climate change here: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2006/2006-01-10-07.asp.
Better yet, become better educated yourself by reading over UNEP's pages on climate change: http://www.unep.org/themes/climatechange/.
As for the recent rains on the East Coast, it is far too soon for any scientist to say with any degree of certainty or respectability that actions A and B are what directly led to these debilitating rains. Even before this modern age there were heavy rains and flooding.
All that being said, your point remains valid. The enviornment is a huge concern that is being overlooked by altogether too many people. But things are looking up and the electorate is becoming incrementally more aware of the drastic results of our actions on the environment. We should expect to see increased demand on our elected representatives to provide us with more eco-friendly solutions to service our everyday needs. There are more organic produce, alternate fuel types, and general awareness about environmentally-friendly practices than there were even 20 years ago. There is much to hope for...
Also, FYI, meteorologists are scientists. "Meteorology" comes from Aristotle's Meteorology (350BC) so it has a long tradition of scientific association. Read more on Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meterologist
Post a Comment