Deadly Winter Tornadoes, "The Human Element," & Climate Change is Bipartisan
The newsletter for independent thinkers on carbon and climate.
(source: CBS News)
Issue No. 102
Welcome to the latest issue of Carbon Creed - a curated newsletter for independent thinkers on carbon and climate.
Is climate change fueling devastating winter tornadoes?
The tornadoes that recently struck the U.S. are some of the most destructive and deadly in history. The death toll in Kentucky, the hardest hit state, reached 77 on Friday, with many still unaccounted for.
The scale of destruction and timing of the tornadoes so late in the year—most tornadoes occur in the spring and summer —is fueling discussion about how climate change may have influenced this deadly outbreak.
“In my 40 years as a meteorologist, this was one of the most shocking weather events I've ever witnessed,” says Jeff Masters, a meteorologist at Yale Climate Connections. “Watching these storms on Friday night, my thought was, ‘Is no season safe?’ Extreme tornadoes in December. That was mind blowing to me.”
Unlike heat waves and floods, the link between a warming world and tornadoes is complicated and inconclusive. Scientists have several theories about how tornado behavior may change. December tornadoes and a shift toward the southeastern United States are possible. Whether climate change will make tornadoes more intense or frequent remains to be seen.
Instead of asking: ‘Did climate change cause this tornado?’ It’s better to operate under the assumption that climate change did play a role. Start from the premise that every extreme event is being affected by climate change.
Creed Thoughts: Let’s face it - climate change is here today, not mañana. My hope is when we gather with friends and family over the coming holidays, we’ll talk about how the weather and climate are changing, and what we can do now to avoid the worse-case climate predictions. Make it your year-end resolution, to honor the folks in Kentucky.
We’ll keep you posted on the latest carbon policy and market insights as they happen.
If you have an opinion on any topic covered in this newsletter, please feel free to send me an email at mcleodwl@carboncreed.com.
Thank you for your viewpoint and the value of your time.
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QUOTES
Words that will inspire you…
(source: National Jazz Museum of Harlem)
"Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin
“Climate change is the Everest of all problems, the thorniest challenge facing humankind.” - Lewis Gordon Pugh
BOOKS
(source: Amazon)
The Human Element
by James Balog
A magnum opus on the human impact on our planet—from the threat of animal extinction to catastrophic wildfires, global warming as visualized through glacier melt, and increased ferocity of historic floods and storms—James Balog presents four decades of his research and photography in this climate call to arms.
For four decades, world-renowned environmental photographer James Balog has traveled well over a million miles from the Arctic to the Antarctic and the Alps, Andes, and Himalayas. With his images heightening awareness of climate change and endangered species, he is one of the most relevant photographers in the world today.
Balog’s photography of and essays on “human tectonics”—humanity’s reshaping of the natural environment—reveal the intersection of people and nature, and that when we sustain nature, we sustain ourselves. This monumental book is an unprecedented combination of art informed by scientific knowledge. Featuring Balog’s 350 most iconic photographs, The Human Element offers a truly unmatched view of the world—and a world we may never see again.
Creed Comments: I really like world-class photography books. Whenever we get together for family gatherings (reunions, holidays, etc.) we enjoy spending hours combing through old photos. This book has that “effect” in spades, for anyone looking for an innovative way to bring up climate with friends and family over the holidays.
Here’s a great book review that captures the impact of this work extremely well:
“A collection of visually arresting, powerful, historical-marker photos of ‘the Anthropocene’ by one of the celebrated naturalists and photographers of our time. Physically the book is large, very heavy, and beautifully produced. It is like a museum exhibition, captured between covers. Since people don’t need printed dictionaries any more, you’d want to put it on a dictionary stand—both so you don’t have to hold it, and so you can carefully leaf through its hundreds of arresting images. However you can see this photographic record of our time—in this book, in the gallery exhibits that should resume someday, or otherwise—you should make a point of doing so. This is a beautiful, and alarming, and motivating portrait of our era.” - JAMES FALLOWS
OPINION
(artist: Drew Sheneman)
Climate change is bipartisan
By Drew Sheneman
The best thing about science is that it’s true regardless of whether you believe it or not. You can talk until you’re blue in the face but the second a massive tornado touches down in the middle of December and chews a 100-mile path through the countryside, your argument becomes moot. Climate change simply is.
Massive super-charged tornadoes and hurricane-force winds knocking out power to 500,000 across the central U.S. are the new normal. Certain media outlets can whine about a made-up war on Christmas all they want, but to co-opt a well-worn meme, “Mother Nature doesn’t care about your feelings.”
Fox News is headquartered on the island of Manhattan. The only ways on or off are bridges and tunnels. When the Atlantic Ocean comes knocking, they will have no choice but to answer. It does them and their viewers no good to deny the inevitable when the inevitable is already here. It does give the marketing department new opportunities in terms of merch. I can’t wait to see the new Fox News branded umbrellas, snorkels and water wings.
Reality can be uncomfortable, even frightening, but much like science, it doesn’t care whether or not you believe it. Climate change is real and you’d think a group of people concerned with maintaining “our way of life” would be more concerned about the prospect of that way of life floating away.
[This post was adapted from the original written by Drew Sheneman for The Star-Ledger]
RESOURCES
The Keeling Curve a daily record of global atmospheric CO2 concentration.
Congressional Policy Tracker a summary of current federal energy legislation.
Click Clean your favorite apps and tech company clean power rankings.
Advancing Inclusion Through Clean Energy Jobs a report by the Brookings Institute.
Understanding ESG a series of ESG-focused thought leadership webinars for business and investors, presented by Baker McKenzie.
Matter of Fact, a weekly newsmagazine that focuses on socioeconomic and climate issues in America, hosted by veteran journalist Soledad O'Brien.
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