Hurricane Matthew

How ironic.

Almost a month ago I participated in the 2016 Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference hosted by Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments. None of us could have predicted Hurricane Matthew would strike the Carolinas. And yet, we shouldn’t be surprised. The effects of global warming and the consequences of radical climate change is a fact. All weather these days is affected by climate disruption. And right after the last presidential debate, David Leonhardt, in a New York Times editorial (“The Debates Were a Failure of Journalism”) blasted the moderator for not posing one question to the candidates on climate change, after months of excessive heat waves across the country and in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

Anyone who doesn’t want to believe in climate change (even presidential candidates) is delusional. And the cause of climate change is us. Human beings and our massive consumption of energy and the heat trapping gases produced (our carbon footprint) have contributed to increased floods in the Midwest and Northeast, droughts in the Southwest and heatwaves and heavy downpours all over the United States. And, this is not just a problem of the United States, though we are largest consumers of energy, but a global issue.
Read More