Video Credit: Daily Caller/C-SPAN – click for video
By WUWT Regular Just The Facts
First, I’m sure I speak for everyone at WUWT when I say that our hearts go out to all the families in Oklahoma affected by the weather tragedy there today.
In the video above US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse states that:
“When cyclones tear up Oklahoma and hurricanes swamp Alabama and wildfires scorch Texas, you come to us, the rest of the country, for billions of dollars to recover. And the damage that your polluters and deniers are doing doesn’t just hit Oklahoma and Alabama and Texas.”
Read more: Daily Caller
If Senator Sheldon Whitehouse did more reading and less ranting, he might know that Continental US Temperature Lower Troposphere (TLT) – 1979 to Present;
is currently below average.
US Strong to Violent Tornadoes (EF3-EF5) – 1950 to 2012;
are below average. US Inflation Adjusted Annual Tornado Trend and Percentile Ranks;
are currently below average. US Tornadoes Daily Count and Running Annual Total;
are currently well below average.
US Extremes in Landfalling Tropical Systems – 1910 to Present – Annual;
are currently below average.
This US Acres Per Wildfire and the Number of Wildfires Per Year graph;
shows that the number of wildfires have decreased, while the acres per fire have increased.
This is an important distinction as the associated article elaborates:
This graph shows the inverse relationship between numbers and sizes of US wildfires over time. Note the greater number and smaller sizes of fires between the creation of Wilderness in 1964 and the beginning of the modern wildfire era in 1987 and 1988 (with Silver Complex and Yellowstone fires of those years), as compared with the smaller number and greater size of recent fires. One factor may be the shift in USFS policy from rapid suppression to “let it burn,” which has allowed for numerous smaller fires – previously extinguished individually — to coalesce into larger fires and singular complexes.Evergreen
For reference;
“Forest managers agree that the current fire risk is primarily a combination of two factors — higher-than-average temperatures and a profusion of fuel, the product of nearly a century of fire suppression policies.”
“Recognizing widespread overgrowth in American forests, in the late 1970s the Forest Service began reintroducing policies of prescribed burning and allowed many smaller, natural fires to burn out on their own, provided they didn’t threaten lives or property. The decision this summer to attack all fires, while not a direct reversal of this policy, does represent a departure from that practice of natural restoration, said Jennifer Jones, a public affairs specialist with the Forest Service. Scientific America
The shift in thinking was formalized in a 1995 statement of federal fire policy, and strengthened in a 2001 revision. The policy recognizes that fire is “an essential ecological process,” and that decades of trying to keep fires from burning have led, ironically, to “larger and more severe” conflagrations because of the buildup of underbrush and other fuel. USA Today
As such, US Forest Fire data is biased by “nearly a century of fire suppression policies” and “the shift in USFS policy from rapid suppression to ‘let it burn,'”, which begin “in the late 1970s”, “was formalized in a 1995 statement of federal fire policy, and strengthened in a 2001 revision.” Furthermore, given that continental US Temperatures are currently below average, it is absurd to blame to recent forest fire activity on Global Warming.
US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse used the tragic weather events in Oklahoma to spout erroneous alarmist Global Warming rhetoric. Mr Sheldon, less ranting, more reading…
Hat Tip to WUWT Reader “007”
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Anthony: Unfortunately, there is shameful precedence for this sort of opportunistic political rhetoric, WUWT readers may recall when the Center for American progress blamed southern conservatives voting record for tornadoes:
This might be a good time to remind readers of this essay:
The folly of linking tornado outbreaks to “climate change”
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I read Sen. Whitehouse’s comments as I was watching the aftermath of the destruction in Oklahoma City. As a midwesterner, I was almost physically ill over his ignorance and insensitivity. His state got money for non-existant Sandy damage, and he has the nerve to lecture us??
To quote LTG Russel Honore, Senator, “You’re Stuck on STUPID!”:
“During a press conference in Louisiana, an obnoxious (surprise!)member of the news media tried to pull a fast one on LTG Honore, who had just the right answer for him.”
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Tells you sth about the media and politics to have someone serving as Senator stating these populist stupidities. Rhode Island is a poor country in that sense.
Politicians are trained scaremongers/opportunists. Such has been around since the dawn of history, much to our detriment.
From the floor of the Senate? (Maybe you missed the ‘theater’ in which this took place?)
Harry Reid (a former Nevada Gaming Commissioner) has REGULARLY taken after other citizens on a personal and political level from the very floor of the Senate!!!!!! (showing a significant lack of CLASS and DECORUM), but that is subject material for discussion on other websites …
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What a “snip.”
There’s a new picture in the dictionary next to the word demagogue to go along with a new political party, the Dema-crats. But the Senator is succeeding contrary to belief in some corners that climate alarmism is waning. Everyone I know is willing to believe that climate change is responsible for every unusual weather event, hot, cold, record change from low to high, any kind of wet event, any kind of dry event, …
I can point out that every weather event is in some way unique unto itself. News people do this in every category including sports with stories like no two Russian women have ever before in history won first and second place in this long distance race before. Making never befores out of common occurrences is turned into climate change caused this. And people nod and go back to believing that it’s never been exactly this way before, we could all die, and it’s somehow somebody else’s fault.
Soon the great Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will propose the “National Climate Change Tax Act”
It will tax the generation of carbon dioxide to pay for the damage CAGW does thru fire, tornadoes, and cyclones. A true demagouge if I ever heard one.
Sheldon was not elected Senator for his intelligence, obviously. It was because of his loyalty to the Democrat Party machine that has run RI since 1937. The people elect him because they are traditional Democrats locked into a system of labor union dominance of the State legislature and political patronage connections, not because they think about the issues and see that the current situation hurts more than helps. The majority of RI voters are uninformed and small-minded so Sheldon can spout this nonsense because is secure in the knowledge they will re-elect him. Those few of us who know better and must live in this beleaguered state both weep and laugh at his foolishness when we could do so much better in choosing our Congressional delegation.
What is has always been and will always be.
“By early evening all the sky to the north had darkened and the spare terrain they trod had turned a neuter gray as far as the eye could see. They grouped in the road at the top of a rise and looked back. The storm front towered above them and the wind was cool on their sweating faces. They slumped bleary-eyed in their saddles and looked at one another. Shrouded in the black thunderheads the distant lightning glowed mutely like welding seen through foundry smoke. As if repairs were under way at some flawed place in the iron dark of the world.”
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
Methinks Senator Whitehouse would like to President someday, and is acutely aware he represents a state with very few electoral votes.
But perhaps he might get lucky, and someday he’ll be asked about how it is in the Whitehouse White House.
Which will make his brain explode.
When I was an intern in college one of the senior engineers chided me about my shoddy work, but said the good news is that I was slow. We can only hope that the senator is slow.
Say there wakeupmaggy, how’s the cosmic ray count doing up there in them hills?
Atlantic coast Terrestrial Background . . . . 0.16 mSv/yr
sea level Cosmic Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . 0.26 mSv/yr
Denver Cosmic Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.50 mSv/yr
Rocky Mountains Terrestrial background . 0.63 mSv/yr
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The saddest part is not Senator Whitehouse’s rant. His rant is American Politics 101. The saddest part is the number of people buying into it. Can you name one single politician who lost their job because of their strong stance on AGW?
We are getting what we asked for, period.
I sent an email to Senator Whitehouse this morning, just going over all the facts presented here at WUWT so often. I kept a polite, factual tone; I expect a polite, meaningless response. One never knows what effect such communication might have. Most changes of mind start with one small nagging doubt.
Re tornadoes:
Me says: “Conclusion: global warming causes LESS frequent LESS violent storms.”
Justthefacts says: “Yes, that would appear to be the case over decadal timescales. ”
Good, I think that is the key point to concentrate on in the face of the inevitable media spin and political profiteering from the current tragedy.
Trying to jerk people off with fear and emotions in the aftermath of such an event is despicable.
Greg Goodman says:
May 20, 2013 at 8:18 pm
Your provincialism is showing. Colloquially, in the Plains of the US, the terms cyclone and tornado are used for the same thing. Less so than they used to be, but the usage remains.
That didn’t take long. At bedtime last night I told my wife somebody would try to blame this disaster on Global Warming™. He may have already said this idiocy by the time I was telling my wife.
Out of practicality many do. Many in the Midwest have access to basements as well.
There are stories and first hand accounts now being shown on MSM (broadcast) outlets detailing the stories of those who took shelter in their “shelters”.
On the OTHER hand, we *know* the doxastic commitment of 97% * of warmists extends only so far as other people’s wallets, bank accounts and income statements and certainly *not* their own. Of course, they would deny this, but their actions belie their expressed belief.
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* An admittedly non-researched, W.A.G. figure.
I think someone should sue this idiot for libel. That might bring more attention to the real situation than anything else. Anyone fitting the description (doesn’t believe the propaganda on climate change and involved in an industry that emits CO2) he used should be able to sue him.
I predict that soil moisture in the plains states will drop in the next ten years based on the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer. Basic physics, less moisture = less warmth in the atmosphere. Maybe we can avoid this with some breakthrough desalination technology and replace the lost water with the Gulf of Mexico?
Published: May 21, 2013 at 7:03 AM
WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) — The depletion of groundwater from one of the largest aquifers in the United States since 2001 was faster than during the entire 20th century, the USGS finds.
The U.S. Geological Survey reviewed groundwater data from 1900 to 2008 and said the annual rate of depletion was accelerating. The Ogallala Aquifer, which covers more than 170,000 square miles in the middle of the United States, declined rapidly because of the high rate of water use for agricultural, industrial and municipal water needs.
“The depletion during the last eight years of record [2001-2008] is about 32 percent of the cumulative depletion in this aquifer during the entire 20th century,” the USGS said in a statement.
The USGS said groundwater depletion has increased steadily since the 1950s but has accelerated more quickly in the last eight years.”
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2013/05/21/US-groundwater-running-dry/UPI-81191369134227/
Chris4692 says:
May 21, 2013 at 6:56 am
Greg Goodman says:
May 20, 2013 at 8:18 pm
““When cyclones tear up Oklahoma …”
He clearly does not even know that it was a tornado that hit Oklahoma not a cyclone.
Your provincialism is showing. Colloquially, in the Plains of the US, the terms cyclone and tornado are used for the same thing. Less so than they used to be, but the usage remains.
– – – – –
For the record, the good (?) Senator Whitehouse is from Rhode Island, that Northeastern enclave of self-believed omniscience far removed from the Plains of the US.
I’m waiting for the AGW crowd to try and implicate OK Senator Inhofe, the member of Congress who has most boldly stood up against their BS. They will go that low, I’m sure.
Strong wind shear at low levels, I agree that is main ingredient for the big tornadoes. Say like today in Arkansas the low level wind shear is weak. So the rain is coming in buckets but the winds aren’t throwing the buckets.
http://www.estofex.org/guide/2_3_1.html
2.3 Tornadoes
2.3.1. Supercell tornadoes
Tornadoes that occur with supercell storms are to be considered the most dangerous. They occur under the mesocyclone of the storm that may be detected with Doppler-radar. If the storm is close to the radar, a smaller, more intense circulation may be observed at the location of the tornado, the tornado cyclone or tornado vortex.
Several environmental characteristics have been associated with the occurrence or of tornadoes. In some cases, answers are missing or incomplete as to why these characteristics are so important. Most important is, naturally, the presence of a supercell storm. Remember that those storms become more likely with increasing wind shear in the 0-6 km layer.
Secondly, strong tornadoes seem to be favoured by strong low-level wind shear. When the vertical wind shear in the lowest kilometre of the troposphere is around 10 m/s of shear or more, tornadoes are more likely with supercell storms (Brooks and Craven, 2002).
Thirdly, storm-relative helicity in the lowest kilometre appears to have predictive skill as well (Rasmussen, 2003). Many strong tornadoes in Europe occur in situations of strongly veering winds in the lowest kilometre, indicative of high storm-relative helicity.
Additionally, the amount of CAPE that is released in proximity to the earth’s surface – say, below 3 km above the surface – is found to have a relation with the occurrence of tornadoes. When much CAPE is converted into upward motion nearby the surface, strong accelerations result that intensify any vorticity present, by stretching the air column. It turns out that many tornadoes in the U.S. occur when around or above 100 J/kg of CAPE is released below 3 km (Davies, 2004). Another parameter that represents the same effect is the altitude of the level of free convection (LFC). If this level, where a parcel becomes warmer than its environment is low, strong upward accelerations and amplification of vertical vorticity can be expected. Statistal relation has been found as well between vey low values of convective inhibition CIN and the occurrence of significant tornadoes.
Finally, it has been shown that the lifted condensation level (LCL), which is a proxy for the cloud base is important to consider. If the LCL is high, say above 1500 m, the chance of tornadoes drops quite rapidly. The reason behind this is not yet well-understood, but has probably a lot to do with strong evaporative cooling in the storm’s downdrafts, that prevent the cold air to flow up into the storm again – something that usually happens in and near the tornado.
Frank K. says:
May 21, 2013 at 5:36 am
philincalifornia says:
May 20, 2013 at 9:49 pm
“I’m pretty good with vitriol, but even I can’t muster enough for this lying, conniving douchebag.”
I am tempted to use MUCH harsher words for this idiot senator than you Phil. I just cannot comprehend someone so sick and evil that they would use the tragic deaths of children and adults in the Moore, OK tornado to advance their political agenda. But this is the reality of the CAGW movement today…and we KNOW who has “educated” this senator.
I hope ALL climate scientists and meteorologists will denounce this horrible rhetoric in the strongest of terms…and I’ll be observing to see WHO denounces this and WHO just sits back and, like a coward, says nothing.
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Thanks, yes, I think that another good litmus test for the beyond vile utterings of this foul specimen of humanity is that even Nick Stokes hasn’t come on here to tell us all how we’re misinterpreting what he said.