Was Hurricane Sandy A Sign Of The “New Normal”?

Energy Tribune ^ | November 2, 2012 | Art Horn

[Eric Blair 2084]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy people with no meteorological training at all are climbing high atop media soap boxes, proclaiming that Hurricane Sandy is part of a “new normal” of extreme weather. Robert Puentes, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program said “Since we keep seeing large scale storms — the derecho this summer, Irene, Isabel — it may be wise for transit and infrastructure planners and officials to think of these as part of a new normal,” This claim is based on the often repeated warning that the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide is causing the weather to become different than it was in the past, therefore creating a “new normal”. In other words, in the past the weather was “normal”, now because of the way we make energy, it is different and it’s our fault and we better do something about it, i.e. control the weather.

The Governor of New York and the Mayor of New York city have no training in meteorology or hurricanes but made statements implying that Sandy was the result of climate change. Governor Cuomo said “These are extreme weather patterns. The frequency has been increasing”. He has not done his homework with respect to hurricanes. Research by Dr. Ryan Maue shows that global hurricane activity has not increased since 1978 and has declined since the early 1990s. Meteorologist Joe D’Aleo quoted Dr. William Gray, the famous hurricane forecaster from Colorado State University, who predicted the current period of increased North Atlantic Hurricanes back in the 1980s. Dr. Gray said the increase will be due to changes in the ocean warming and cooling cycle know as the AMO. Hurricanes are not new to New Jersey or New England.

[The Duke]

No, that storm was caused by European settlers exploiting the indigenous peoples, don’t you know?

And here I was thinking all these years that it was "buffalo farts"!

[BwanaNdege]

“And here I was thinking all these years that it was “buffalo farts”!”

Those are “organic” and don’t count. Besides, they were once Endangered Species and got a whole bunch Brownie Points for that.

/sarc