It's Climate That Changes, But Weather That Kills You
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.12.08
Getty Images
What makes the tragedy in Burma so horrifying? Is it the clearing of the mangroves? Is it the venality and cruelty of the Burmese junta that is not letting relief workers in while it is actually shipping out rice to Bangladesh to "meet contractual obligations" ie, get foreign exchange? Or is it climate instability that comes from global warming? One can't say that, or you will get your tapes edited by Fox News as they did to Al Gore, one cannot directly blame this on climate change. Or maybe you can, as Richard Littlemore did brilliantly at Desmogblog. He writes:
There is no proof whatever that the devastating strength of cyclone Nargis is related to climate change. There is no concrete evidence that the deadliest tornado season in a decade can be linked to global warming.
There is a smoking gun, and it has human fingerprints all over it. The case against the fossil-fuel-burning culprits has certainly been proved beyond reasonable doubt, but because the worst offenders are rich and influential, there is still no one up on charges. ::DeSmogBlog
It is going to be a struggle for Architecture for Humanity to ever get a look-in at what is becoming more of a political than a natural disaster, but if I wanted to contribute I would still send my money there.
"Is it the venality and cruelty of the Burmese junta that is not letting relief workers in while it is actually shipping out rice to Bangladesh to "meet contractual obligations" ie, get foreign exchange?"
Yes, it is.
PS - It's tough and a little dangerous to tie individual storms to global climate change. What we are seeing is an increase in the frequency of storms that are more intense, which, by their nature, do more damage and take more life. It is the ongoing increase in storm activity that is tied climate change and the "human fingerprints" referred to in the post. In this case, the cyclone in Burma becomes another data point on that trend line.
Grow up. Handle the truth. It was fossil fuels which got us to the fateful point where we are now--at last technologically poised to transcend many of the very problems which accumulated from their use. But hearken: no fossil fuels, no industrial revolution, no industrial revolution, no information revolution, no information revolution, no green revolution...and we'd all still be back two centuries, struggling in a much-harsher pre-industrial world where over half of all society's labor was needed just to produce enough food. Without the world that fossil fuels created, who pray tell was going to give us the solar cell? You, with your sorry self exhausted behind a plow instead of a keyboard? Charges? Please. If you're a member of any well-fed western industrial society, then indict yourself first. We've all been the beneficiaries and villians. But in a way it was necessary--we're also the ones leading the way beyond...
Grow up. Handle the truth. It was fossil fuels which got us to the fateful point where we are now--at last technologically poised to transcend many of the very problems which accumulated from their use. But hearken: no fossil fuels, no industrial revolution, no industrial revolution, no information revolution, no information revolution, no green revolution...and we'd all still be back two centuries, struggling in a much-harsher pre-industrial world where over half of all society's labor was needed just to produce enough food. Without the world that fossil fuels created, who pray tell was going to give us the solar cell? You, with your sorry self exhausted behind a plow instead of a keyboard? Charges? Please. If you're a member of any well-fed western industrial society, then indict yourself first. We've all been the beneficiaries and villians. But in a way it was necessary--we're also the ones leading the way beyond...
Grow up. Handle the truth. It was fossil fuels which got us to the fateful point where we are now--at last technologically poised to transcend many of the very problems which accumulated from their use. But hearken: no fossil fuels, no industrial revolution, no industrial revolution, no information revolution, no information revolution, no green revolution...and we'd all still be back two centuries, struggling in a much-harsher pre-industrial world where over half of all society's labor was needed just to produce enough food. Without the world that fossil fuels created, who pray tell was going to give us the solar cell? You, with your sorry self exhausted behind a plow instead of a keyboard? Charges? Please. If you're a member of any well-fed western industrial society, then indict yourself first. We've all been the beneficiaries and villians. But in a way it was necessary--we're also the ones leading the way beyond...
I agree that the shipping out of food to meet contractual obligations is the worst thing. Same as the potato famine in Ireland long ago.
But Rich at least that way we'd all have jobs, and the obesity crisis wouldn't be a problem.
All cell phone towers have the ability to warn people of tornados or other localized dangers via cell phones. The cell phone companies won't turn on the feature although many state governors have requested it.
On my website, safersmallcars.com
I give a link which gives details.
You can also Google "cell broadcast".