HuffPost: Global warming worsened Katrina, or something like that
Tags: huffington postThe HuffPost's Jason Leopold offers "An Issue Just as Deadly as Terrorism", about Katrina and the Northeast blackout:
…For years, energy and environmental experts sounded early alarms about the potential for catastrophes like this unless federal lawmakers immediately took the necessary steps to upgrade the country’s aging power grid to stave off widespread power failures.
Whoever Leopold is, he needs an editor to make it clear that the power grid didn't worsen Katrina.
And in the case of global warming, backed the Kyoto protocol, which aims to curb the air pollution blamed for severe climate changes that is no doubt the reason Katrina turned from a relatively small hurricane to a destructive monstrosity due to high sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Weather Service.
What's that? The NWS says global warming worsened Katrina!? No, wait, let's read that more closely. He's saying that that was caused because we didn't sign Kyoto! No, wait… Aw, don't bother. Just let the Arianna side of your brain take over and you'll understand.
September 30th, 2005 at 6:05 pm
What don't you understand? It seems pretty clear to me what the person is saying: that there's a link between blackouts and global warming because government is doing anything to protect the environment or infrastructure.
"For years, energy and environmental experts sounded early alarms about the potential for catastrophes like this unless federal lawmakers immediately took the necessary steps to upgrade the country’s aging power grid to stave off widespread power failures. And in the case of global warming, backed the Kyoto protocol, which aims to curb the air pollution blamed for severe climate changes that is no doubt the reason Katrina turned from a relatively small hurricane to a destructive monstrosity due to high sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Weather Service.
Global warming isn’t some harebrained scheme cooked up in a laboratory by mad scientists. It’s an issue that’s as real as terrorism, and just as deadly. While support for the Kyoto treaty wouldn't have prevented an act of God like Hurricane Katrina it would have been a step in the right direction for the White House politically. By signing it, the Bush administration would have been able to fend off its critics who claim the administration has done nothing to safeguard the envir"onment for future generations.