Frankenpoop

Hurricane Sandy is approaching the US east coast on Oct 28, 2012. It has been dubbed 'Frankenstorm' because of its near Halloween arrival coupled with the appearance of the full moon which will add to the normal storm surge to be expected. The nearness of the US election for POTUS to the event has started speculation that the storm has been sent by the Deity to wake up US politicians for ignoring the issue of climate change during the televised debates. Frankenpoop!

Alarmists don't miss an opportunity to be, well, alarmist. Make no mistake Sandy has the potential to be a very destructive storm since it may linger over the US eastern seaboard because of a high pressure system to the north that may keep Sandy pinned down for a few days. Lots of rain, high winds and snow is expected for the areas that fall in its path. Storm surges may be exceptionally high due to the high tides enhanced by the pull of the full moon. Much property damage should be expected.

But Sandy is not unprecedented and while we wish people in its path the best possible outcome we should not lose sight of the context in which Sandy falls. There have been other hurricanes that have occurred in the fall of the year along the eastern seaboard. A list of them appears here. Hurricane Hazel, a category 4 1954 storm, that traveled a similar path to that projected for Sandy was very destructive and cost 95 lives. 1886 was a particularly bad year for hurricanes in the US when 7 landed, two of them of the 'major' variety. New England experienced a devastating hurricane in September of 1938. In September of 1944 a hurricane hit NYC and again in 1950. The NYC area does not usually receive storms that bring more than 6 inches of rain. The rainiest day was in 1954. When we look at Atlantic City, NJ we see that extreme precipitation events have been on the decline. All of these storms occurred when CO2 was at a much lower concentration in the atmosphere than it is today. Does this not suggest tat CO2 has nothing to do with fueling storms? The US has not been hit by a MAJOR hurricane in 7 years. Florida has not been hit with ANY hurricane in 7 years. Both periods of absence are records. President Obama has been in office for only two hurricanes and one of those has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. These facts do not support the view that hurricanes are becoming more frequent or severe. Their severity in terms of property damage is a result of the growth of human society.

Sandy, as with any hurricane, is to be feared and people should take steps to secure their safety. But hurricanes have happened before and will happen again. The records do NOT indicate that they are becoming more frequent or more severe. They may cause more damage to property which is to be expected given the growth of population in the areas affected. Sandy is not part of a new normal. To suggest that it is is Frankenpoop. Hurricanes, unwelcome as they are, will drop in on us from time to time. Even reducing our levels of atmospheric CO2 concentration to those present in 1886 will not prevent them. Seriously, doesn't this suggest to you that CO2 concentration has nothing to do with the severity of the weather? Time to reject Frankenpoop.

Alarmists rue the lack of coverage of climate change in the presidential debates. You can hear them almost hoping for a very destructive result for hurricane Sandy. Some have called it God's wrath. That is a vengeful  God. My preference would be for one who keeps hurricanes at bay for 7 years or longer. Alarmists will try to use the appearance of Sandy to plead their case for CAGW. Armed with a little history and some scientific studies that rebut the association of CO2 with extreme weather we can ignore the hysteria and realize that CO2 is innocent of all charges. Sometimes we get bad weather and just have to endure it. May everyone in its path experience Sandy safely. 

CO2 is a trace gas essential to life on Earth and has been exhaled during the creation of this post. No living thing was harmed. Some even liked it.