Storms Made Worse by Global Warming, Capitalism Sputnik | |
go to original August 31, 2017 |
How climate change makes hurricanes worse (Vox)
Update: Powerful Hurricane Irma Could Be Next Weather Disaster (CNN)
As it turns out, Hurricane Harvey was made into the monster it is through to the effects of global warming and the ever hungry machine of capitalism.
Speaking to Brian Becker with Radio Sputnik's Loud & Clear, Fred Magdoff, professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont, said that while "you can't say if there had been no global warming, there wouldn't have been the storm," it definitely was "made worse because of global warming."
According to Magdoff, it's simple: the hurricane was able to hold more liquid as a result of the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico evaporating into the atmosphere.
"The warmer the water, the more the water evaporates into the atmosphere, the warmer the atmosphere, the more water it can hold," Magdoff explained. "These types of storms will hold more water."
Acknowledging that some dismiss the notion of global warming, Magdoff went on to say that even if there were a hurricane about to make landfall and the global warming wasn't real, "you wouldn't have that much water in the hurricane because you would've had less evaporation and less water being held in the atmosphere."
But this wasn't the only factor that made Harvey so destructive.
Magdoff says this is the exact reason why so many communities are being affected by the destruction Harvey unleashed. "It's an issue of a lack of zoning or poor zoning laws" where communities are being built on areas far beyond the capacity of the soil to absorb excess water.
Read the rest at Sputnik
Related: Hurricane Harvey and Climate Change: Here Are the Facts (Climate Reality Project)
Related: Millions Worldwide Hit By Unprecedented Flooding as Climate Change Becomes a Deadly Reality (The Ecologist)
Related: Don’t Blame Climate Change for the Hurricane Harvey Disaster – Blame Society (The Conversation)
Related: Here's How to Donate to the Red Cross and Salvation Army to Help Hurricane Harvey Victims in Texas (Business Insider)
Related: Help Texas Animal Shelters Affected By Hurricane Harvey (Best Friends)
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