Via POLITICO’s Morning Energy – May 21, 2013:
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif. – Chair of Senate Environment & Public Works Committee) took to the Senate floor and invoked the Oklahoma tornadoes in her speech on global warming.
“This is climate change. We were warned about extreme weather. Not just hot weather. But extreme weather. When I had my hearings, when I had the gavel years ago. -It’s been a while – the scientists all agreed that what we’d start to see was extreme weather. And people looked at one another and said ‘what do you mean? It’s gonna get hot?’ Yeah, it’s gonna get hot. But you’re also going to see snow in the summer in some places. You’re gonna have terrible storms. You’re going to have tornados and all the rest. We need to protect our people. That’s our number one obligation and we have to deal with this threat that is upon us and that is gonna get worse and worse though the years.”
[Boxer] also plugged her own bill, cosponsored with Sen. Bernie Sanders that would put a tax on carbon. “Carbon could cost us the planet,” she said. “The least we could do is put a little charge on it so people move to clean energy.”
And then there’s the shameful rant from US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse yesterday.
Here’s a germane question for these geniuses.
Tell us, what could any tax, law, edict, or protest have done to stop yesterday’s tornado outbreak? And what makes this one somehow different from the F5 Oklahoma city tornado of 1999 that also hit the city of Moore?
What made this somehow AGW enhanced or different from the F5 tornado that destroyed the Oklahoma city of Snyder in 1905, or the 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak which produced an F5 striking Blackwell, Oklahoma, killing 20, with another F5 from the same storm striking Udall, KS, killing 80?
Tell us you Canutian meteorological geniuses, how could you have changed the outcome yesterday?
For those who live in the real world, reference these from NOAA:
US Strong to Violent Tornadoes (EF3-EF5) – 1950 to 2012;
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) – Click the pic to view at source
are below average. US Inflation Adjusted Annual Tornado Trend and Percentile Ranks;
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Storm Prediction Center- Click the pic to view at source
are currently below average. US Tornadoes Daily Count and Running Annual Total;
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Storm Prediction Center- Click the pic to view at source
….are currently well below average.
And when is the hottest part of the year in the USA? July and August of course. When is the peak tornado season? In the spring when it is cooler. Seasonal heat is not aligned with tornadic activity.
![tornadoes_bymonth[1]](http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/tornadoes_bymonth1.png?quality=75)
Andrew Revkin at NYT Dot Earth has a thoughtful essay on how city planning (or lack of it) likely contributed to this disaster. He closes with:
I’ll add a final thought about the persistent discussion of the role of greenhouse-driven climate change in violent weather in Tornado Alley.
It’s an important research question but, to me, has no bearing at all on the situation in the Midwest and South — whether there’s a tornado outbreak or drought. The forces putting people in harm’s way are demographic, economic, behavioral and architectural. Any influence of climate change on dangerous tornadoes (so far the data point to a moderating influence) is, at best, marginally relevant and, at worst, a distraction.
Read it here: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/a-survival-plan-for-americas-tornado-danger-zone/
UPDATE:
The IPCC says:
“There is low confidence in observed trends in small spatial-scale phenomena such as tornadoes” and on no knowledge on future development of tornadoes: “There is low confidence in projections of small-scale phenomena such as tornadoes because competing physical processes may affect future trends and because climate models do not simulate such phenomena.”
On pages 8 and 113, http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/images/uploads/SREX-All_FINAL.pdf
(h/t to Bjorn Lomborg for IPCC link)
From the Daily Caller:
An often cited 1975 magazine article by long-time Newsweek science editor Peter Gwynne warned of tornadoes as a consequence of “global cooling,” along with other residual effects, including food shortages.
“There are ominous signs that the Earth’s weather patterns have begun to change dramatically and that these changes may portend a drastic decline in food production — with serious political implications for just about every nation on Earth,” Gwynne wrote. “The drop in food output could begin quite soon, perhaps only ten years from now.”
There was even a specific passage blaming the “global cooling” phenomenon for a 1974 tornado outbreak.
“Last April, in the most devastating outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded, 148 twisters killed more than 300 people and caused half a billion dollars’ worth of damage in thirteen states,” Gwynne wrote.
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From arthur4563 on May 21, 2013 at 12:52 pm:
That would be prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Challenges would be difficult since it has yet to proven that one can be too stupid to be a politician.
Besides, virtually everyone in Congress has a law degree. Offhand the one or two that don’t are doctors, with medical degrees.
It’s not that Congress critters aren’t intelligent, because they are. It’s just that they’re often not smart enough to not be stupid.
“California Water News carries an article that invokes the 97% to call out those who dispute the orthodoxy:… ‘ [Neil Jordan, 11:01 AM, 5/21/13]
The best defense is a good offense. Their shrill tone and grossly exaggerated narrative show that they know they are on defense. The have been pushed back deep inside anti-AGW territory. And they are losing ground.
Their frail-minded cheerleader, the Puppet in Chief, can read his teleprompter as loudly as he wants. They will still lose the game.
Truth is marching on.
I think you’re all being unkind, Sen Boxer is a really nice person:
manicbeancounter says: “I do not want in any way to downplay this terrible tragedy.”
No worries mate, you haven’t.
manicbeancounter says: “But like with many other natural disasters, the human loss is decreasing dramatically over time and may that decline continue”
Which is significant and amazing; when you consider both population increase and urban sprawl. The fact is there are more targets (human and buildings) for Tornadoes to hit.
News from Oklahoma regarding storm shelters in schools:
“Most of the schools in Oklahoma don’t have one” because of the cost, Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis told CNN. But he said he’s sure that will change now.
Alert! This just in from the local TV meteorologist, the big Oklahoma tornado was EF-5, winds were up to 200 to 210mph
=============================================================
Or this.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/OH/200003440.html
The tornado must have been caused by all those campfires Indians and settlers made back then.
Just think. If no one had invented fire we’d be living in Climate Utopia!
For the first time, I have to take exception with a headline here on WUWT. Boxer has proven herself stunningly ignorant many times before and a long, long, long time ago. Perhaps a more descriptive adjective or multiple descriptive adjectives are in order to correct the headline.
“REPLY: “This is the most worked up I have seen Anthony in a long while.” You have no idea. – Anthony”
Thunderingly powerful writing, Anthony!
That’s how we write when we care.
Well done.
=====================================================================
If I don’t, someone else will.
http://theweek.com/article/index/208568/call-me-senator-funniest-political-ad-of-2010
@ur momisugly Gold Minor (re: 1323 comment: “Perhaps a more descriptive adjective or multiple descriptive adjectives are in order to correct the headline.”)
That’s what comments are for. Why not provide one yourself? A golden opportunity to demonstrate your fine writing!
John from the EU says:
May 21, 2013 at 10:31 am
“Is someone going to write to these Senators and educate them on the real facts?”
One way to spread the word about the folly of linking tornadoes and climate change is to reply to one of those senators’ tweets with a link to a relevant wattsupwiththat article.
I think there is a climate influence, but not what Boxer thinks. The slight 20th century warming reduced tornadoes and other storms because temperature difference is what drives them. The 20th century warming increased the temperature in the higher latitudes, reducing the temperature differences. Global temperatures are now falling, so we can expect more storms and hurricanes.
Thank you, J. Philip Peterson, Billy Liar, and Gunga Din, for the hilariously apropos videos!
“There was even a specific passage blaming the “global cooling” phenomenon for a 1974 tornado outbreak.”
And they were correct, we are back into a Global Cooling period and it is THIS that will bring more numerous tornadoes if it continues, as it seems is upon us in the coming years. That tornado formed just a few miles south of my home… look at the radiosondes yesterday… it was the -20 to -40°C air just above that made this one a monster, not “global warming”. I’d love to slap that lady silly, tell her to get back into reality and to stop lying to the public from here bullypulpit.
And they’re campaigning on moral grounds to stop tax avoidance? It’s surprising that anyone pays any taxes at all!
The nonsense coming from Boxer and others really annoys me.
I lost my home, a classmate, several other kids my age (9), the hospital my father worked in, and the town high school (which had just opened that year) in a tornado in Belvidere, Illinois. The school busses with the younger kids were lined up in front of the high school to pick up their older siblings when a huge tornado ripped across the south side of town and made a direct hit on the school and the busses. That was 46 years ago on April 21st, 1967.
It wasn’t climate change that did that to me and my town – it was just bad luck. It is utterly pathetic for people like Boxer to use a tragedy like this to promote their vision of a restructuring of the planet’s economy. Shame on her for ignorance and gall.
I pray that more people see the kind of data presented in this post so that they are not victims of the panic-mongers.
Kev-in-Uk says:
May 21, 2013 at 12:59 pm
No one else has answered, so I’ll do what I can. Wind damage, including tornadoes, is covered under a regular household insurance policy. Flood insurance is separate and covered under a special policy subsidized by the Federal Government. When there is a hurricane there are usually numerous disputes between owners and insurance companies whether the damage was wind or flood: they are different policies and the owners frequently do not have flood insurance.
The cost of the flood insurance varies according to flood zone: since I avoid living there, I don’t know the cost. When I was in school, the first thing we were told in hydrology class was to be very careful where we live, as it is very embarrassing if a civil engineer gets flooded.
A couple decades ago I lived in a town that was hit with a tornado; just a couple blocks from my home, though I had no damage. The mayor talked to the affected homeowners and decided not to seek a disaster declaration. Everyone was insured so the declaration would have no value to anyone.
They need -now listen to me close- “a bigger boat” (dealing with EF5 rated beasts!)
.
Manfred says:
May 21, 2013 at 1:42 pm
A pronoun without a predicate, and then you do loop-DE-loops with multiple negatives so I have no idea what you’re trying to say.
“We need to protect our people” so sayeth Barbara Boxer. Excuse me; ‘Senator Boxer.’ And, how does Madame Boxer (excuse me; ‘Senator Boxer) expect to do so? “The least we could do is put a little charge on it (carbon) so people move to clean energy.”
Oh, I feel quite comfortable now! When the tornadoes come, well I’ll just tape my carbon tax forms to the windows and retreat to my carbon tax form wallpapered cellar. Hurricane? What hurricane? I’ll just ride it out on my carbon tax form paper mâché boat. Golf ball sized hail? You guessed it; a carbon tax form hard hat. Forest fire? Yeah, you just try to burn that carbon tax form. C’mon try.
See what I mean? A carbon tax form will be the most durable thing on the face of this Earth. Possibly in the whole damn galaxy. You won’t be able to drown it, bury it, beat it, burn it, destroy it by any means whatsoever. Of course you won’t be able to transfer squat of that indestructible nature towards anything remotely resembling personal security.
BTW: I worked damn hard to get to be a Senior Designer in the art department where I worked. I want to be called Senior Designer TomJ from now on.
Climate change hysteria is the best example of group psychosis, but on a global scale.
WELL SAID, Anthony! I am a former Ohio boy, and I remember the 1974 tornado that hit Xenia, Ohio, it really did a job on the city. Extreme weather my foot!
“That tornado formed just a few miles south of my home… .” [Wayne at 1:38PM]
Glad you are okay, Wayne. Hope you have a place to take shelter if, strike that, when another tornado comes. Take care.
***************************************
Tom Moriarty, thank you for sharing a painful memory with us. Thank you for reminding me that what matters most is people.
The AGW profiteers and high priests care about: #1 Money — #2 Power/prestige.
The Truth in Science (therefore, anti-AGW) coalition cares about: people.
Guilt is a component of many religions. Catastrophic Global Warming is a religion.