Related Posts
Deadly record: 950 natural disasters killed 295.000 people in 2010
2010 was a record-breaking year for natural disasters. According to Insurance ERM, a website dedicated to enterprise risk...
Natural Disasters: Signs that Earth can’t bear more
Natural disasters are unpredictable and can traumatize any individual irrespective of their caste, creed, sex, age or gender....
2011’s Record Number of US Billion Dollar Weather and Climate DisastersThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today that the official list of billion dollar weather and...
Top 10 Global Climate Change Indicators according to the NOAA
According to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization in the U.S.) there is no doubt the Earth’s...
It’s not SETI but the idea is pretty much the same: use your home computer to forecast Climate ChangeI don’t know if you are familiar with the SETI (Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence)@home project, where computer owners...
Get your Eco Starter Kit
Create an account and start harvesting Carbon Credits! Exchange your Carbon Credits for green goodies, like the Eco-Hatchery Starter Kit!
-
Green network users
2,990 Users - Show All
Green Directory
Tip of the Day
Go grocery shopping locally to help reduce your carbon footprint
Can climate change affect natural disasters?
damage from Hurricane Ike – photo by U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. James L. Harper Jr. (source: U.S. Air Force)
If you want a simple answer to whether climate change can affect natural disasters then it has to be a broad and resounding yes. Yet, as simple answers often go, it is a ‘yes’ that doesn’t quantify how much human activity contributes to climate change or therefore how much such contributions impact the rate or severity of natural disasters. Nor is it an answer qualified by which specific kinds of natural disasters are probably influenced by climate change. Obviously, simple answers aren’t very good at providing detailed information. Nor are headlines.
The London Times, which seems to be lately adopting a more ‘skeptical’ attitude towards climate change, ran a story on January 24th entitled ‘UN wrongly linked global warming to natural disasters’ written by Jonathan Leake. This just days after a study projecting the impact of anthropogenic global warming on hurricane severity and frequency was published. The study – published by Science magazine – projects that global warming will decrease the amount of hurricanes in the Atlantic, but increase their severity. The New York Times’ Andrew Revkin wrote an informative article based on the study entitled ‘Warming Expected to Cut Atlantic Hurricane Tally but Boost Threat’. National Geographic chose to focus on the severity angle (at least in the headline): ‘Strongest Hurricanes May Double in Frequency, Study Says’.
“The best information we have now supports the view that tropical storms will likely decrease in number,” [...] “But the risk of category 4 and 5 storms could increase.”
– Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (source: National Geographic)
But what about other natural disasters? If one considers droughts to be natural disasters, or likewise floods and forest fires, then one must concede that it is likely that global warming could have an effect on such phenomena – at least in areas where they are already problematic. As far as I know there is no evidence linking earthquakes and resultant tsunamis to climate change and such a proposition indeed sounds ridiculous. Yet there are indications that earthquakes and landslides in Japan may be influenced or even caused by other human behavior. Furthermore, it is believed that mangrove forests form natural barriers that protect against flooding caused by tsunamis and hurricanes. Mangrove swamps are threatened by pollution and various human activities – including climate change – in places as diverse as India, Malaysia, Nigeria and Florida.
Perhaps a better question would be whether human activity can cause or exacerbate natural disasters. Again, in general we already know that it does. Mankind has been changing local ecosystems, landscapes and climates for thousands of years, starting with hunting and increasing drastically with the advent and spread of animal husbandry and agricultural techniques – and again with industrialization. These factors transformed the Earth’s regional climates and ecologies – and continue to do so. No one could argue these facts, because they are plain, relatively simple and have been happening for thousands of years. Climate change and global warming on the other hand – much like the varied effects of the ozone hole – are more complex and harder to predict. But predictions should still be attempted and not simply knocked down because of political motivations when they turn out to be less than perfect. If the science is careless, like in the case of glacier-gate, then some criticism – however politically tainted – is indeed justified.
by Graham Land
Tags: climate change, earthquakes, global warming, hurricane, mangrove, natural disasters, study
Other Greenfudge.org posts
The Critically Endangered Siberian Crane Needs Your Help
Have you ever seen a Siberian Crane? It’s an absolutely beautiful bird. Unfortunately, it’s also a critically endangered bird. The Siberian Crane is a migratory bird. It travels about 3,100 miles (5,000 km) every year from northern Siberia to either China or Iran. Much of the wetlands along its migration route are being drained for farming. There is also an issue with China’s Three Gorges Dam, where 98% of the remaining Siberian Cranes go for winter. Their wintering area near the...
Study on global emission targets says temps will rise by 4C
An analysis based on national emissions targets suggests that global temperatures will rise by 4C (7.2F) by 2100. Six months after over 100 governments pledged to limit their countries’ emissions in order to keep temperatures from rising more than 1.5-2C (2.7-3.6F) above pre-industrial levels a major international study of over 60 nations, called the Climate Scoreboard, has calculated that temperatures are set to double if current targets are held to. Another study by Climate Analytics, at the Potsdam Institute in Germany, suggests...
Met Office scientific report: global warming ‘unequivocal’
A new Met Office report, compiled of several recent studies, documents what scientists consider undeniable evidence of a changing climate and warming planet. 10 indicators of global warming were incorporated in the report, including rising land and sea-surface temperatures, ocean heat, sea levels and humidity; and a reduction in Arctic sea ice, glaciers and springtime snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere. From an article in the Wall Street Journal: The State of the Climate 2009 report, published Wednesday as a special supplement to...
Obama Announces Plans to Open More Areas of US Coastline to Offshore Drilling
Yesterday, President Barack Obama announced plans to open large areas of the US coastline to oil and natural gas drilling. The areas include nearly 167 million acres (67 million hectares) of ocean along the Atlantic coast, Alaska’s north coast and eastern portions of the Gulf of Mexico. There would be no drilling along the Pacific coastline, or anywhere on the Atlantic coastline (except Bristol Bay) from New Jersey to the north. Supposedly, the proposal is focused on reducing dependence on foreign...
The Exxon Valdez Spill: Nearly 21 Years Later
As the years roll by, the Earth’s waterways become more and more polluted. Sometimes, it may be due to litter or the illegal dumping of waste. In other cases, oil spills or pipe bursts happen. Over the past year alone, we saw quite a few incidents, including spills in the Timor Sea and San Francisco Bay, plus the more recent pipe burst in China that caused thousands of gallons of oil to be swept away; some clear to the Yellow...
Brandeis to Install One Of The Largest Solar Power Arrays in Massachusetts
EOS Ventures is partnering with Brandeis University in Massachusetts to build one of the largest solar power array in the state at the Gosman Center. The array is expected to generate about 277-kilowatts, enough to power about 10% of their needs. According to estimates, it should save about 11.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 25 years. This project is part of the universities’ initiative to be carbon-neutral by the year 2050. Read the full article here By...
‘Skepticism,’ politics and profits
The current public 'debate' on climate science and global warming is for the most part essentially an ideological argument. Since climategate and 'glaciergate', the onslaught to discredit any scientist whose research supports ideas of anthropogenic global warming has grown noticeably. Yet those who are most vociferous in their denunciations of the IPCC, climate scientists and environmentalists as 'warmists' and 'alarmists' are usually not debating from a scientific standpoint, but from that of ideology or politics. Such propaganda wars seem to be...
Morocco has Big Plans for Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary
In a great step towards environmental action, Morocco plans to announce a National Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development this Earth Day. The commitment is the first of its kind for both Africa and the Arab World. Personally spearheaded by the King of Morocco himself (Mohammed VI), the charter will guide policy and future laws on natural resources, the environment and sustainability for Morocco. In its most basic form, the charter simply states that “everyone is entitled to live in a...
Top 10 Green Widgets, Applications, and Websites
Across the internet, you’ll find a world of information on environmental news, how to live green, how to calculate your carbon footprint, tips on saving energy, and so forth. More sites, programs, widgets and applications come out every single day. Obviously, you can’t keep track of them all. How do you decide which ones are worth checking out? Are they legitimate programs or just another form of greenwashing? Well, I’ve tried to save you some of the guesswork by creating this...
Rail travel is safer, greener and often faster
The proliferation of steam-powered railroads, beginning in the 19th century, revolutionized much of the world in terms of trade, travel, infrastructure and communication. Traveling by rail was initially a luxury, but eventually became a common means of transport. The rise of the automobile however, saw train travel fall out of fashion in some places – particularly the United States. By contrast, in Europe and the more industrialized parts of Asia, freight and passenger rail has remained widespread and heavily used....
View all articles
You can also log in to post a comment.