Reality check: Who believes Hurricane Sandy was/was not caused by global warming?

This list of who’s who is instructive to review. It says a lot about credibility of the “Sandy was caused by global warming” argument being pushed by activists and media.

Compare who’s pushing the agenda versus who isn’t buying into the hype.  See below. 

Links to their statements are designated with an asterisk * – click on the * to see the story

Says Global Warming IS the cause of Hurricane Sandy Says Global Warming IS NOT the cause of Hurricane Sandy
Name affiliation/link Name affiliation/link
Al Gore activist Climate Reality Project * Dr. Martin Hoerling NOAA *
Joe Romm activist CAP  * Dr. Roger Pielke Jr. UC *
Bill McKibben activist 350.org * Dr. Karsten Brandt donnerwetter *
Chris Mooney activist and blogger, Grist * Dr. Chris Landsea NOAA NHC *
Roseann Barr actress/singer Pres.candidate * Dr. Ryan Maue Weatherbell *
Meghain McCain no known credentials * Dr. Patrick Michaels VA state climo/ Cato *
Dr.Katharine Hayhoe Texas Tech * Dr. Judith Curry Georgia Tech *
Dr. Michael Oppenheimer activist EDF * Dr.Norman Page PhD – Geology *
Jennifer Granholm TV host/fmr governor * Dr.Gerald North Texas A&M *
Dr. George Lackoff Berkeley * Eric Berger Houston Chronicle SciGuy *
Dr. James Hansen activist, NASA GISS * Tom Chivers UK Telegraph *
Van Jones apologist and activist * Andrew Revkin New York Times *
 Chris Matthews  Hardball * Deniers are pigs. Dr. Roy Spencer UAH *
 Bill Clinton  #42 *  Joe Bastardi  WeatherBELL*
 Dr. Stephan Lewandowsky  Pollster *
Michael Moore  Sicko (on CNN)
UNSURE/ASK ANOTHER/ DIFFERENT QUESTION: COMPLETELY OFF TARGET POOR GEOGRAPHY
Dr. Randall Dole (NOAA):Dr. Peter Stott of the UK Met OfficeDr. Kevin Trenberth (NCAR)   *  Dr. Michio Kaku *
Dr. Kerry Emanuel (MIT)  *

From this comparison it seems clear that activists are pushing the idea that Hurricane Sandy is cased by AGW/Global Warming.But what about the hundreds of other storms?

Readers are invited to submit other entries in comments.

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David Ball
October 30, 2012 7:02 pm

Ric Werme says:
October 30, 2012 at 6:44 pm
“It really doesn’t matter much ”
It matters a great deal. If it wasn’t a hurricane, that needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
WTF is “post-tropical”? Do they just make siht up as they go along?

jbird
October 30, 2012 7:09 pm

Global warming (caused by fossil fuel use) is responsible for my bad breath and thinning hair, and I intend to sue all the major oil companies for turning me into the thoroughly unpleasant person I have become!

October 30, 2012 7:09 pm

Most of the pseudo-scientists preaching the “global warming is causing severe weather” gospel are on the government dole. They depend on taxpayer-funded grants for their survival. If the AGW theory goes belly up (we can only hope it will happen soon), the research grants dry up. There lies their true motivation: keeping the grant money flowing. Their end-of-days rhetoric has nothing to do with saving the planet, which is quite capable of taking care of itself — with or without man’s presence.

RockyRoad
October 30, 2012 7:09 pm

I’m sure the way CAGW acolytes account for CO2 lagging temperature increases, Hurricane Sandy is in response to future warming. And since it hit Atlantic City, the odds are much better than even that this is so.

Carl Brannen
October 30, 2012 7:11 pm

The subject came up as an example of planetary storms in the “astronomy news hour” here. A professor noted that storms of this size occur on the earth extremely frequently. But the earth is big so they usually miss New York City.

October 30, 2012 7:25 pm

Ric Werme says October 30, 2012 at 6:44 pm

Of course, until it got close to land. There was never a tropical storm or hurricane warning posted for NJ etc. Personally, given the eye on radar as it approached NJ,

Hmm … the eye as it approached landfall …. a little indistinct if I recall … also note the drop-off of precipitation to the east and in the NE quadrant as it approached land finally
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/10/29/latest-super-high-resolution-image-of-hurricane-sandy/#comment-1128140
.

ossqss
October 30, 2012 7:27 pm

The baroclinic influence on this system is undeniable and took over long before land interaction.
It will come out in the wash.
The name was not changed to protect the innocent.

tom s
October 30, 2012 7:27 pm

The weather channel and NBC were colluding about this just now. I detest these people.

cui bono
October 30, 2012 7:27 pm

Bit O/T, but the Texans are getting snitty about NY’s lack of care of the Intrepid shuttle.
“You may recall that one criticism of Space Center Houston’s bid for a space shuttle was that it would have been vulnerable to hurricanes.
Well, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have displayed the shuttle in what appears to have been a glorified tent that could be blown down by tropical-storm force winds.”
http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2012/10/thanks-new-york-for-taking-care-of-the-shuttle/

James at 48
October 30, 2012 7:29 pm

I do believe it was, if not a result of climate change, a precursor of climate change. More precisely, I surmise it to be a sort of “standing wave” or constructive interference as a result of a type of ringing or overshoot … ringing or overshoot at the end of the interglacial.

LamontT
October 30, 2012 7:30 pm

I heard Joe Bastardi on Fox last night saying it wasn’t global warming but a start of a cyclic trend similar to what was seen in the 1950’s.

Jeff B.
October 30, 2012 7:34 pm

In other words Socialists will rally behind anything that nets them more power. Solution? Don’t vote Democrat.

mtobis
October 30, 2012 7:37 pm

Wait, isn’t there something unacceptable about compiling a list of scientists and a quick estimate of which side of a question they believe? I mean, I thought there was some reason Anderegg et al were not supposed to do that?

James at 48
October 30, 2012 7:38 pm

Meanwhile to the north:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/reference-pages/sea-ice-page/
There is something odd about this year’s freeze up. The big melt (or was it hypercompression) this summer / fall may have been the calm before the storm as it were. This will be fascinating to observe.

pat
October 30, 2012 7:58 pm

TVNZ: is global warming/climate change a factor in what we’re seeing on the East Coast, in your opinion?
Jim Salinger in San Francisco: yes it certainly is…BLAH BLAH BLAH…global warming makes storms stronger. seas warmer…BLAH BLAH
VIDEO: TVNZ: What caused the Superstorm
Kiwi climate change scientist Jim Salinger is based in California and knows US and NZ weather.
http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/jim-salinger-cyclone-sandy-video-5177151

Crabalocker
October 30, 2012 7:59 pm

Lest we forget hurricane Hazel, 1954. A category 1 hurricane hitting Toronto…..CANADA!

pat
October 30, 2012 8:04 pm

29 Oct: SBS Australia: Source: The Conversation: Hurricane Sandy ‘mixes super-storm conditions with climate change’
By Kevin Trenberth, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
The sea surface temperatures along the Atlantic coast have been running at over 3C above normal for a region extending 800km off shore all the way from Florida to Canada. Global warming contributes 0.6C to this. With every degree C, the water holding of the atmosphere goes up 7%, and the moisture provides fuel for the tropical storm, increases its intensity, and magnifies the rainfall by double that amount compared with normal conditions.
Global climate change has contributed to the higher sea surface and ocean temperatures, and a warmer and moister atmosphere, and its effects are in the range of 5 to 10%. Natural variability and weather has provided the perhaps optimal conditions of a hurricane running into extra-tropical conditions to make for a huge intense storm, enhanced by global warming influences…
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1706035/Hurricane-Sandy-mixes-super-storm-conditions-with
30 Oct: CBS Local Denver: NCAR Scientist Worries About Daughter While He Tracks Sandy
PHOTO CAPTION: Kevin Trenberth at NCAR talks with his daughter during Hurricane Sandy (credit: CBS)
Distinguished senior scientist Kevin Trenberth with the NCAR says Sandy is something else, and he’s been glued to his computer.
“The unique thing about this storm compared with a normal hurricane is the size is twice as big,” Trenberth said.
He says it will cause extensive flooding that many won’t be able to escape.
“It’s coming into one of the most populated areas in the world, and the number of people that are affected by this storm is perhaps unprecedented,” Trenberth said.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/10/30/ncar-scientist-worries-about-daughter-while-he-tracks-sandy/

dp
October 30, 2012 8:06 pm

_Jim says:
October 30, 2012 at 6:56 pm
dp says October 30, 2012 at 5:15 pm
Mosh is on record at Dr. Curry’s blog as a …
I think that is a ploy, a tactic, being shown there.

Regardless, it is the most unambiguous thing he’s ever written, so it stood out. Most of the time he kicks you off the sled and tells you to follow dog poo until you get to Dawson City or at least equally unhelpful blurbs.

pat
October 30, 2012 8:08 pm

29 Oct: Christian Science Monitor: Superstorm Sandy Liveblog
The Huffington Post’s Tom Zeller quotes Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section at the USA National Center for Atmospheric Research, who describes Sandy as representing “the new normal.”
“The past few years have been marked by unusually severe extreme weather characteristic of climate change.” Trenberth told HuffPo. “The oceans are warmer and the atmosphere above the oceans is warmer and wetter. This new normal changes the environment for all storms and makes them more intense and with much more precipitation.”…
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/1029/Superstorm-Sandy-Liveblog-Did-the-White-House-respond-too-quickly-video

garymount
October 30, 2012 8:08 pm

“100 year storms now happen every two years”
They first have to become once every 99 years and progress to ever higher frequency. They don’t just jump to once every 2 years. Even the IPCC says increase of frequency of events is not seen in the data.
http://rogerpielkejr.blogspot.ca/2011/11/few-comments-on-ipcc-srex-report.html

October 30, 2012 8:10 pm

RayG says:
October 30, 2012 at 5:52 pm
R. Shearer says: October 30, 2012 at 5:13 pm
I blame B.ush
The domain names iblamebush.com and .net are available. go to whois.com to claim them.
—-
I just snagged iblamebush.com. Thanks Ray G! and R. Shearer!
Now I have to figure out what kind of website I want for it. A winter hobby. Thanks!

pat
October 30, 2012 8:15 pm

31 Oct: WestAustralian: AAP: Seth Borenstein: Scientist predicted New York flooding
CLIMATE scientist Michael Oppenheimer stood along the Hudson River and watched his research come to life as Hurricane Sandy blew through New York.
Just eight months earlier, the Princeton University professor reported that what used to be once-in-a-century devastating floods in New York City would soon happen every three to 20 years.
He blamed global warming for pushing up sea levels and changing hurricane patterns…
Some parts of Sandy and its wrath seem to be influenced by climate change, several climate scientists said.
First, there’s sea level rise. Water levels around New York are nearly 0.3 metre higher than they were 100 years ago, said Penn State University climate scientist Michael Mann.
Add to that the temperature of the Atlantic Ocean, which is about .8 degrees Celsius warmer on average than a century ago, said Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University.
Warm water fuels hurricanes.
Sandy zipped north along a warmer-than-normal Gulf Stream that travels from the Caribbean to Ireland, said Jeff Masters, meteorology director for the private service Weather Underground…
Normally there are 11 named Atlantic storms. The past two years have seen 19 and 18 named storms. This year, with one month to go, there are 19.
After years of disagreement, climate scientists and hurricane experts have concluded that as the climate warms, there will be fewer total hurricanes. But those storms that do develop will be stronger and wetter…
Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University, an expert in how a warming Arctic affects extreme weather patterns, said recent warming in the Arctic may have played a role in enlarging or prolonging that high pressure area.
However, she cautioned it’s not clear that happened with Sandy.
While components of Sandy seem connected to global warming, “mostly it’s natural, I’d say it’s 80, 90 per cent natural,” said Gerald North, a climate professor at Texas A&M University…
On Tuesday, both New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor Andrew Cuomo said extreme events like Sandy are causing them more trouble.
“What is clear is that the storms that we’ve experienced in the last year or so, around this country and around the world, are much more severe than before,” Bloomberg said.
“Whether that’s global warming or what, I don’t know. But we’ll have to address those issues.”
Cuomo called the changes “a new reality.”
“Anyone who says that there’s not a dramatic change in weather patterns I think is denying reality,” Cuomo said.
“I told the president the other day: ‘We have a 100-year flood every two years now.”‘
For his published research, Oppenheimer looked at New York City’s record flood of 1821.
Sandy flooded even higher…
Oppenheimer walked from his Manhattan home to the river on Monday evening to watch the storm.
“We sort of knew it could happen but you know that’s different from actually standing there and watching it happen,” Oppenheimer said.
“You don’t really imagine what this looks like until you see it.”
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/breaking-news/scientist-predicted-new-york-flooding/story-e6frg13l-1226507354539

pat
October 30, 2012 8:20 pm

oops…borenstein article should be attributed to PerthNow website, not West Australian.

D Böehm
October 30, 2012 8:20 pm

Cecil Coupe,
Good for you. A man of action! Make good use of it.